IES and IUVA Collaborate to Publish UV-C ANSI Standards

The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA) recently partnered in an effort to assemble experts in the measurement of ultraviolet C-band (UV-C) emissions to develop American National Standards (ANSI Standards) for the measurement and characterization of UV-C device performance.

UV-C devices for health care and personal care have proliferated in recent years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the absence of standards to enable accurate measurements and comparisons of products. Through this partnership, IES and IUVA aim to cooperatively promote awareness of and improve the application of ultraviolet “disinfection” technology in the health care system. Initially, these goals will be accomplished through the development of standardized methods of measurement of UV-C “disinfection” products, including UV lamps, luminaires and lighting/radiating systems, utilizing both discharge (e.g., low-pressure mercury and xenon) and solid-state (e.g., LED) technologies.

According to the press release, 99,000 people are estimated to die annually from healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in the United States alone, which is more than 11 people per hour. HAIs are also estimated to result in $10 billion in direct medical costs annually —up to $147 billion in total societal costs. UV-C emissions are known to cause photochemical damage to nucleic acids and proteins, inactivating and thus rendering pathogens incapable of reproducing. UV-C disinfection devices are therefore useful in health care settings to reduce patient and health care worker exposure to these pathogens when combined with standard cleaning strategies. To enable broader UV-C adoption, health care administrators need credible and comparable product performance data to inform investments for both new construction and retrofits.

A series of American National Standards (ANSI standards) is envisioned, beginning with two slated for publication by the end of the year. The first standard, Approved Method for Electrical and Ultraviolet Measurement of Discharge Sources, will detail laboratory procedures for the measurement and characterization of low-pressure mercury and other discharge sources. The second, Approved Method for Electrical and Ultraviolet Measurement of Solid-State Sources, will do the same for UV-LED components.

“IUVA, through its Healthcare/UV Working Group, has been working on developing industry consensus-based standards for UV disinfection since 2018. Establishing this partnership with IES is a key component of making that happen,” said Troy Cowan, the IUVA Working Group’s coordinator. “We needed representation of the entire lighting sector to build industry-consensus, and IES delivers that. Thanks to IES’ and IUVA’s collaborative efforts, these new ANSI standards will eliminate much of the ambiguity and uncertainty in UV output measurement. This will improve accuracy and quality and give the health care industry a credible basis for assessing output of UV disinfection devices for the first time.”