Airborne Microorganism Inactivation by a UV-C LED and Ionizer-Based Continuous Sanitation Air (CSA) System in Train Environments.

Giulia Baldelli,Mattia Paolo Aliano,Mauro Magnani,Giuditta Fiorella Schiavano,Carmelo Pennino,Giulia Amagliani,Giorgio Brandi

doi:10.3390/ijerph19031559

Giulia Baldelli, Mattia Paolo Aliano + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031559

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Abstract

Improving indoor air quality present in environments where people live is important to protect human health. This particularly applies to public transportation, where air quality may affect the health and safety of passengers, workers and staff. To provide better air quality, many buildings and transports are provided with heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, which are always equipped with filters to retain the particulate present in the airflow, but they lack continuous air sanitization systems. In this study, a new UV-C LED and ionizer-based continuous sanitation air (CSA) system to be installed in a train HVAC was developed (international patent: N.PCT/IB2021/054194) and its sanitation efficacy against various microbial species (bacteria and fungi) was assessed. The device proved to be very effective at the microbial killing of aerodispersed microorganisms, both in its experimental configuration (ISO 15714:2019) and in a train setting. The installation of this CSA system on public transportation appears to be a promising solution to guarantee high microbiological air quality with a very low environmental impact due to its eco-friendly components.

Highlights

The hygienic quality of the air and surfaces of indoor environments can affect the health of people living and working in them due the presence of different microorganisms, physical and chemical factors, pollutants, and particulate matter [1]
The daily air inhaled by a human typically contains average loads of 106 airborne microorganisms [4], some of which can be pathogenic and cause illnesses of different severity, from flu to COVID-19, pneumonia, asthma, or allergies [5,6,7,8]
The continuous sanitation air (CSA) system is a continuously operating air sanitation and purification system that aims at killing airborne microorganisms and reducing potential pollutants in the air (e.g. PM1–10)

Summary

Introduction

The hygienic quality of the air and surfaces of indoor environments can affect the health of people living and working in them due the presence of different microorganisms, physical and chemical factors, pollutants, and particulate matter [1]. To produce a dispersed aerosol of E. coli and to reach the desired concentration of aerosolized microorganism, a nebulization pre-chamber was built and located in the vicinity of the train car return air panels. The air was sampled in the vicinity of the train car supply air panels, with the airflow switched on. The airflow rate overflowing from the air vent panels was measured with an anemometer at each sampling point considered. Air samples at the nebulization pre-chamber were obtained The experiments were carried out in the train car without the CSA system; the disinfection device was placed in the air conditioning system and the tests were performed with the CSA system switched on.

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