The century-old UV light disinfection approach is becoming popular today. The whole world is fighting against a single protagonist, the COVID-19 coronavirus. When the genetic material (DNA or RNA) of microorganisms absorb UV light (UVC light between 200 and 280 nm wavelength), pyrimidine dimers form. This formation prohibits the replication of these microbial cells. Hence, people began to deploy the UVC light approach to inactivate harmful microorganisms present on the surfaces, air, and water.
Today, UV germicidal irradiation (UVGI) finds its applications in different sectors and industries. Some of them include food/kitchen units, restaurants, bus/train stations, planes, manufacturing/warehouse units, indoor workspaces, retail outlets, schools, and even HVAC systems.
When UV light has such wide applications, why cannot we deploy it in shopping malls and centers?
Shopping Malls: The Hotspot of Pathogens
Shopping malls receive high foot traffic and carry some of the most dangerous high-touch surfaces. An exploratory study by Moetaz Elsergany et al. unveiled the following findings:
- In each shopping mall studied, more than 75% of the collected swab samples showed bacterial contaminations
- The highest contamination prevailed on food court trays, food court tables, and food tray handles.
Another news article presents the top four hotspots in malls for microbial contamination, namely public restrooms, food courts, shopping carts, and reusable bags.
With COVID-19 coronavirus raging across nations, it is imperative to automate the disinfection procedures in such highly contaminated shopping mall surfaces.
UV Light Disinfection Approach for Shopping Malls
To disinfect pathogens in the shopping malls, it’s a total waste to go with chemicals or any other means of disinfection except the UV light approach.
Imagine how much you need to spend on procuring the spray or chemical disinfectants or paying the housekeeping wages?
It is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and, of course, ineffective at killing the deadly microorganisms. In contrast, UV light functions are economical, automated, and effective. In addition to the open surfaces, they disinfect the tricky surfaces and air.
Forget it! You can deploy UV light sanitizers as your surface disinfection This is one of the best alternatives that you can go behind.
