Evaluation of the effectiveness of the use of recycle-type UV irradiators for disinfecting the air environment in enclosed spaces
In order to develop preventive measures to prevent the spread of pathogens airborne infections of bacterial and fungal etiology in enclosed areas, including hospitals, in experimental conditions, we compared the efficiency of using three devices of ultraviolet irradiators-recirculators designed for continuous operation in the presence of people. The devices differed in power and emission spectrum of germicidal lamps. The principle of operation of these devices is based on ultraviolet irradiation of the air pumped by means of a fan. The effectiveness of air disinfection was evaluated by the total microbial number and the number of mold fungi in 1 m<sup>3</sup>. Air contamination was assessed during irradiation in an aerogenic chamber and in an enclosed area of a hospital of a medical institution in the presence of bio-objects. It has been established that the bactericidal irradiator-recirculator with a lamp power of 50W at an emission wavelength of 254.7 nm turned out to be the most effective in cleaning the air from bacteria (99.85%/99.83%) and fungi (99.97%/99.72% ). The least effective in air purification from bacterial microflora (99.3%/99.71%), fungi (99.2%/99.17%) was a device with a lamp power of 30W with an emission wavelength of 253.4 nm.