Building Security
A recent survey of Chief Security Officers (CSO) reported that 61% of the companies they worked for were ill prepared for unconventional attacks, including those involving chemical and biological attacks. CSOonline
This is a surprising statistic in light of the fact that very effective and inexpensive solutions for bioterrorism are available. The solutions come from studies performed at Penn State University's Indoor Environment Center (IEC) and Harvard's School of Public Health.
PSU's study, "Bioterrorism and Immune Building Technology" determined that trying to remove 99.9% of a bioweapon from the air in a building should not be the issue. Spore count is more important, and a 60% removal rate of a bioweapon such as anthrax, would be adequate to prevent most, if not all, fatal infections. The 60% figure is easily accomplished with the proper installation of a 60% filter (MERV 13 filter: removal efficiency of particles between 0.3 to 10 micrometers) and one of our customized UVGI (ultraviolet germicidal irradiation) solutions. PSU study
Harvard's study, "The Application of Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation to Control Transmission of Airborne Disease: Bioterrorism Countermeasure" found that, "the integration of ventilation, filtration, and UVGI technologies is the wise approach to airborne disease mitigation for entire buildings." The study also found that UVGI was the predominant factor in reducing the threat when the UVGI was placed in upper room and in-duct locations. HEPA filters were not recommended because they were costly and required careful routine maintenance. Harvard study
Chemical Threats
Although no studies are currently available on the effectiveness of UVGI against chemical weapons, UVGI is routinely used in many industries to remove unwanted chemicals and odors. (e.g. disinfection of drinking water, pesticide factories, breweries, and pharmaceutical plants.)
UVGI has been found to be effective against these chemicals because of three distinct characteristics it exhibits.
- Photolysis. This occurs when high energy photons break apart chemical bonds.
- Ionization. This occurs when non-ionic molecules are converted to charged species making them susceptible to ion exchange removal.
- Hydroxyl production. This occurs when (-OH) radicals oxidize certain molecular bonds causing photochemical breakdowns.
Why hasn't any of this technology been used before?
Incredibly enough, the technology hasn't always been available. Although UV lighting has been around since the 1930s, the introduction of air conditioning systems and the cold air they produced rapidly destroyed the lamps that were created in that time period. UV was shelved for building applications and has only recently made its appearence due to great strides in lamp manufacturing. Todays UVGI lamps operate at precise UV wavelenths and can withstand long periods in the harsh environments of HVAC systems.
Even the filters today are relying on a new standards that have just been created.
ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) finalized their new standard for testing filters in 1999 (Standard 52.2). Their standard allows for the selection of the desired filtration efficiency against a known particle size. The testing enables accuracy and reproducibility as well as allowing for the "worst case" experience over six stages of loading. MERV Standards
Installing one of our UVGI solutions in your building can not only guard you against many of the threats posed to building security, but it can also serve additional functions as well. There will be a noticeable reduction in the number of viruses and bacteria in your building's air system. This will alleviate many of the colds and flus that routinely decimate your workers. People will be happier as allergies and sicknesses decrease. Productivity will naturally go up, and your bottom line will reflect those changes.