Environmental Control for Tuberculosis: Basic Upper-Room Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation Guidelines for Healthcare Settings

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Basic upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation guidelines for healthcare settings guide
• Journal Article:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Personal Author:
  Whalen, John J.
• Description:
  Although the number of cases of tuberculosis (TB) in the United States has declined in the last several years, there is still a continuing need to protect healthcare workers and the public from risk of infection. One of the primary risks to healthcare workers and the public is exposure to persons with unsuspected or undiagnosed infectious TB. Exposures of this type may occur in areas such as waiting rooms, corridors, or emergency rooms in healthcare facilities (e.g., hospitals, correctional institutions, nursing homes, clinics). While mechanical ventilation systems may provide protection to workers in these situations, there are limitations such as environmental constraints, cost, and comfort considerations. In 1997, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) awarded a contract to the University of Colorado to evaluate the ability of a well-designed and thoroughly characterized upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) system to kill or inactivate airborne mycobacteria. A number of parameters were evaluated during the study. These included (1) the irradiance level in the upper room that provides a UVGI dose over time that kills or inactivates an airborne surrogate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, (2) how to best measure UVGI fluence levels, (3) the effect of air mixing on UVGI performance, (4) the relationship between mechanical ventilation and UVGI systems, (5) the effects of humidity and photoreactivation (PR), and (6) the optimum placement of UVGI fixtures. The completed research indicates that an appropriately designed and maintained upper-room UVGI system may kill or inactivate airborne TB bacteria and increase the protection afforded to healthcare workers while maintaining a safe level of UVGI in the occupied lower portion of the room. Additional research still needs to be done to better plan effective upper-room UVGI fixture installation considering variables such as air mixing and measurement of the average UV fluence rate in the upper room. However, sufficient laboratory information is now available to develop these guidelines. This document is designed to provide information to healthcare managers, facility designers, engineers, and industrial hygienists on the parameters necessary to install and maintain an effective upper-room UVGI system. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Content Notes:
  "This document was prepared under the auspices of the Division of Applied Research and Technology. John Whalen was the principal author of the document." p. xxi
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Communicable Diseases Engineering Environment, Controlled Environmental Health Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Facility Environment Health Personnel Microbiology Occupational Health Particulate Matter Radiation Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Tuberculosis Ultraviolet Rays Ventilation

  More +
• Keywords:
  Infection-control; Infectious-diseases; Ultraviolet-radiation; Ultraviolet-light; Health-care-facilities; Health-care-personnel; Respiratory-system-disorders; Respiratory-infections; Microorganisms; Air-contamination; Airborne-particles; Engineering-controls; Ventilation-systems; Ultraviolet-radiation; Indoor-air-pollution; Pulmonary-system-disorders; Indoor-environmental-quality
• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2009-105, 2009 Mar; :1-61
• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Guideline
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  87 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035129
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2009-108105
• Contact Point Address:
  Director, Division of Applied Research and Technology, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226-1998
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ab66a83e10aef6966041f68e8131229f752a4a43953ba2cfe33666d548489de729bd41bf47767772e61f485aaf9ff1954a440774213e89848f6d24b7dfae9dcf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/5306/cdc_5306_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 45.23 MB ]