According to the article “How tech can ease the cleaning industry’s manpower crunch”, written by GERMii (2021), cleaning robots that are equipped with Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) technology are a revolution in the cleaning industry. The pandemic has significantly impacted the world, changing their attention to cleaning and sterilizing. As the requirement for cleanliness is increasing, robots complement the cleaners by accomplishing monotonous roles, while the cleaners can prioritize sterilizing “high-touch, high-risk or difficult-to-clean areas” (GERMii, 2021, para. 4). At the same time, organizations need to teach their staff to operate the robots and use data from the robots to optimize cleaning operations. With Covid-19 causing the demand for cleaners to fluctuate, organizations can send their cleaners for training and upskilling when the demand is low. The article emphasizes that cleanliness also leads to over-cleaning and excessive usage of chemicals, potentially causing an impact on health, cost, and the environment. Organizations need to inform and instruct their cleaners on mitigating these risks. The article also wrote about SoftBank Robotics’ floorcare cleaning robot, Whiz, which uses UV-C to disinfect surfaces, reducing the use of hazardous chemicals. In light of UV-C, the technology will ease the need of doing redundant cleaning, mitigate infections and reduce pathogens and microorganisms, even though UV-C can cause harm when exposed too long but it can be prevented.
One benefit of UV-C is that it can reduce pathogens and microorganisms. UV-C has not only proven to be useful in the cleaning industry but also in the food industry where it has been helpful in preventing harm to humans. Foodborne pathogens and microorganisms that are found on the surfaces of foods can be sterilized with UV-C (Fan, Huang & Chen, 2017). Fresh vegetables and fruits that are not processed, containing traces of human pathogens and microorganisms, cannot be treated with heat as they will change the properties of the produce. UV-C is a technology that emits non-thermal light energy which can decontaminate surfaces of food, terminating any microorganisms like pathogenic bacteria and viruses which can cause harm to humans that eat the food. Processing food with UV-C technology will provide an advantage compared to the norm which is dehydrating, canning, freezing, fermenting and pickling, and irradiating. These ways usually cause the fresh produce to change in its properties and usually will make the food taste differently.
Another benefit of UV-C is that it can mitigate infections. According to Casini et al. (2019), the utilization of UV-C has proven to be useful in mitigating healthcare-associated infections when used in the sanitization of rooms. Research has proven that the use of pulsed xenon-based ultraviolet light no-touch disinfection systems (PX-UVC) to exterminate harmful microorganisms in the operating rooms of hospitals showed positive results of decreasing harmful pathogens on the surfaces compared to when using chemicals to disinfect the surfaces. Healthcare workers can use PX-UVC to clean the rooms instead of using chemicals which will reduce the transmission of pathogens as no direct contact is needed. With the usage of a mobile UV-light disinfection system, it has the benefits of reducing the need to change the room’s ventilation, preventing any extra particles after cleaning, and having a long-term effect on the cleanliness of the room (Casini et al., 2019, Introduction section, para. 4).
Another benefit of UV-C is that it helps to do the redundant part of cleaning. Since the hospital rooms require to be cleaned very frequently, the UVC technology can be very helpful as it is more efficient and reduce the amount of workload for the healthcare workers. UV-C devices help in the automated disinfection of rooms and they are efficient in the extermination of various pathogens, including multidrug-resistant strains, from hard surfaces (Lindblad, Tano, Lindahl & Huss, 2019, para. 5).
To conclude, as our technologies in the sanitization, there are numerous other ways that will always be better than the former technology. With UV-C technology right now, it is one of the best ways that we have which provides us with the benefits of exterminating dangerous microorganisms and preventing potential health risks for humans.
References
Casini, Tuvo, B., Cristina, M. L., Spagnolo, A. M., Totaro, M., Baggiani, A., & Privitera, G. P. (2019). Evaluation of an ultraviolet C (UVC) light-emitting device for disinfection of high touch surfaces in hospital critical areas. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(19), 3572–.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16193572
Fan, Huang, R., & Chen, H. (2017). Application of ultraviolet C technology for surface decontamination of fresh produce. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 70, 9–19.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2017.10.004
GERMii (2021). How tech can ease the cleaning industry’s manpower crunch. Govinsider.
Lindblad, Tano, E., Lindahl, C., & Huss, F. (2020). Ultraviolet-C decontamination of a hospital room: Amount of UV light needed. Burns, 46(4), 842–849.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2019.10.004
O’Mahoney, Wood, K., Ibbotson, S. H., & Eadie, E. (2022). Potential harm to the skin from unfiltered krypton chloride “far-ultraviolet-C” lamps, even below an occupational exposure limit. Journal of Radiological Protection, 42(4).
https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6498/ac9e60
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