UV Disinfection Room within the Healthcare Industry

Ultraviolet light’s use within the healthcare industry has grown tremendously in the past few years as a quick and effective method to reduce the risk of pathogen transmission and hospital acquired infections.  Most applications revolve around the use of portable UV-C systems disinfecting surgical suites, intensive care units, and patient rooms.  One of the more novel uses involves setting up a dedicated disinfection room where items can be brought in for disinfection.  This strategy can be used for the routine disinfection of wheelchairs, hospital beds, carts, and other large portable items.  These items that travel from room to room should be disinfected in between uses in order to further reduce the risk of transmission and infection.

Ultraviolet light is a quick method to provide line-of-sight disinfection to objects and surfaces, with treatment times typically between 1-5 minutes depending on the arrangement.  Off-the-shelf UV light fixtures are mounted according to a customized design based on a facility’s needs to ensure a well-balanced solution is implemented.

Similar systems are in place within vaccine production suites research facilities to disinfect incoming supplies.  Contact us to learn more about these inexpensive, custom solutions.

Decontaminating PC Lines in Food / Pharma

Many food and pharmaceutical processing plants work with dry powder products, which are conveyed throughout the facility in piping systems from vessel to vessel and into the finished product package.  These product conveyance (PC) lines need to be disinfected in a careful manner which ensures that they are completely dry before product is reintroduced.  If a liquid disinfectant is introduced, it can bind with residual product to form crusts and hard biofilms.   ClorDiSys uses dry, chlorine dioxide gas to decontaminate piping systems and has performed many successful treatments within both the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Chlorine dioxide gas works extremely well for this application because, as a gas, it is able to move freely through the piping system and all the bends and turns throughout.  Gasses do not condense or stick to surfaces like liquids and liquid based vapor methods would, they simply continue to travel down the line and fill up the entire system.  To speed this process up, a recirculation loop is traditionally set up to connect the inlet and outlet of the system and provide an airflow within the closed loop.  Chlorine dioxide gas is able to be accurately measured throughout the entire process, typically being measured at the very end of the loop upstream of the gas injection location.  This allows for excellent process control, as the decontamination process continues until the proper dosage has been met, rather than end after a preset time.  This allows the decontamination process to be validated to a particular dosage, which can be reliably and repeatably met every time.  As a process which can be validated, chlorine dioxide gas can be used as a clean break within the PC lines, allowing for a true microbial reset of the environment.

Another main benefit for the use of ClorDiSys dry generated chlorine dioxide gas comes at the end of the treatment. CD gas is safe to vent to the atmosphere, allowing tanks and piping systems to be vented to exhaust at the end of the cycle.  Our proprietary pure chlorine dioxide gas does not leave a residue, making it ideal for product contact surfaces such as PC lines.  For such a critical part of the production process, it is essential to use an effective sanitation method.  With treatment times ranging from 4-8 hours depending on the complexity, decontaminations can be implemented as part of scheduled downtimes and occur at varying frequencies to provide greater assurance that the product being conveyed is safe.

To learn more about PC Line Decontamination, join our webinar on August 19^th.

Using UV-C for Routine Disinfection within the Life Science Industry

Ultraviolet light disinfection technology is commonly used for the routine disinfection of rooms within the healthcare industry.  It is seen as a quick disinfection method for prominent surfaces within patient rooms, ICU units, and surgical suites. This same technology can be used within the life science industry to disinfect animal holding rooms, procedure rooms, and necropsy rooms quickly on a routine basis.

UV light is capable of providing high-level disinfection of viruses, bacteria, molds and spores.  UV light works faster the closer it is to the pathogen, as its strength (intensity) is higher closer to the light source.  It is a dry, residue-free disinfection process that is easy to perform and requires very little maintenance.  UV light does not penetrate well into cracks and crevices, and it doesn’t reflect or bounce off surfaces in a meaningful amount.  This leaves UV as a line-of-sight disinfection method who’s use should be focused on common touch points.  These locations are where contaminations are traditionally transferred, making a routine disinfection of these surfaces a worthwhile occurrence.

Within the life science industry, UV can be quickly and easily used to help disinfect animal holding rooms, necropsy rooms, gowning rooms, equipment passthroughs, procedure rooms and hallways.  When using our Torch UV system, visible surfaces within an 8 ft radius can be disinfected in under 2 minutes, depending on the organisms of concern.  For more information, read our UV Light Data Sheet or contact us at 908-236-4100 to learn more.

Comparing Ethylene Oxide and Chlorine Dioxide Gas for Medical Device Sterilization

 

Chlorine dioxide (CD) gas is now being used for the sterilization of medical devices.  Over the past two years, extensive testing has been done to learn more about its limits within the medical device sterilization market.  Some of the testing was done in partnership with a leading medical device manufacturer who was looking at new technologies which could replace Ethylene oxide (EO) for certain medical devices types.  This testing pushed the boundaries of what conditions CD gas was known to be effective within, and we’ll be discussing that in our upcoming free webinar on July 15^th that you can sign up for by clicking here.

Ethylene oxide first began its tenure in medical device sterilization in the in the 1950’s.  EO was favored due to a lack of sterilization options for heat and moisture sensitive medical devices, gaining popularity due to its ability to penetrate packaging materials and device lumens, its material compatibility, as well as ease of use.  However, EO soon began facing challenges.  In 1987 Ethylene Oxide was determined to be a carcinogen by California.  In the following years the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) studied more than 18,000 workers at 17 sterilization plants and concluded that EO causes breast cancer and lymphomas.  In 2006, and after reviewing NIOSH studies, the EPA released a draft of its review of EO and determined it is a human carcinogen. Pressure peaked in 2018 with lawsuits stemming from claims an Illinois plant’s EO emissions resulted in many incidents of cancer throughout the community.  This pressure resulted in major facilities closing down and forcing added strain on others.  This resulted in increased wait times and overall fears from manufacturers as well as the FDA that the threat of a lack of alternatives besides EO could mean critical medical supplies may not have a mode of sterilization available to them. 

Overall, critical disadvantages associated with EO are the lengthy cycle time, cost, and its potential health dangers.  Another serious issue is that EO can be explosive, creating a risk for sterilizing devices with embedded batteries. EO’s overall risk profile prevents many medical device and pharmaceutical companies from having in-house EO sterilization chambers due to the complexity and safety complications EO sterilizers result in.

Chlorine dioxide gas is a near identical replacement to ethylene oxide in terms of cycle structure and effectiveness.  Chlorine dioxide is non-carcinogenic, non-explosive, and cycles can be completed within one chamber, allowing for a simpler sterilization process.  Gaseous chlorine dioxide is a non-carcinogenic, EPA registered sterilant.  Since it is a gas, the chlorine dioxide molecules will fill the entirety of a space and reach all areas of a component while retaining high material compatibility.  Without the risk of explosion, CD gas is able to sterilize devices containing embedded batteries.  Recent testing proved its ability to sterilize devices within packaging, which was thought to be prohibitive in the past.  The simplicity of the process also allows firms to install and utilize in-house CD gas sterilizers which can help expedite processes and reduce costs.  We have recently registered as an FDA medical device contract sterilization facility (FDA registration number 3013115071), allowing medical devices to be sterilized at our facility before being returned or shipped out to their next location.

Join us on July 15 forour free webinar to learn more.

 

Decontaminating New/Used Equipment

 

Facilities are routinely purchasing equipment for their critical environments (laboratories, production rooms, filling rooms, animal holding rooms, grow rooms, etc).  The equipment can be purchased new directly from the manufacturer, or purchased used from a third party.  Hardly any new piece of equipment is manufactured and delivered under sterile conditions, and most used equipment does not come “certified clean”.  This leaves the facility in charge of ensuring that the equipment is clean and safe to be installed in their critical environment.  As it can be extremely challenging for a facility to perform a complete decontamination of equipment, we have been offering our services to decontaminate newly purchased equipment at the delivery location using chlorine dioxide gas, a US EPA registered sterilant proven capable of eliminating all viruses, bacteria, fungi and spores.

Depending on the size of the equipment and its final installed location, decontamination can take place prior to installation in a container or plastic tent, or after installation by decontaminating the entire room.  Decontaminating the room after the equipment has been installed eliminates the risk of recontamination as the equipment is transferred into place, and allows for any pathogens disturbed by the installation process to be treated.  This makes it the safest method, but it can be more challenging and more expensive if the room the equipment is installed in is very large.

To learn more, please sign up for our free, 30-minute webinar on July 15

CD vs VPHP: Distribution Comparison

We have long discussed the factors to an effective decontamination.  They are:

• The ability of the process to eliminate the target pathogen
• The ability of the decontaminating agent to contact the pathogen
• The ability of the decontaminating agent to accumulate enough contact time

 Chlorine dioxide (CD) and hydrogen peroxide are the two most common methods for room decontamination.  Their ability to consistently meet these factors is where these methods contrast from one another.  These differences stem from their chemical properties, as hydrogen peroxide is a liquid at room temperature that is flash vaporized at 228°F.  This differs from chlorine dioxide as it is a gas at room temperatures with a boiling point at use concentration of -40°F.  Vapors do not diffuse throughout a space as well as gasses, making it far more challenging to achieve complete coverage of an area when using hydrogen peroxide vapor.

Hydrogen peroxide manufacturers have classified hydrogen peroxide as being “poor at passive diffusion.”  Studies have shown it having difficulty going around objects within a space, effectively creating “shadow areas” where hydrogen peroxide is either not reaching, or is reaching at lower concentrations.  It also suffers from condensation as typically the environment being treated is below 228 F.  As such, the further hydrogen peroxide travels, the cooler it will become.  As it cools, it will start to condense and become too heavy to stay afloat in the air, limiting the distances it can effectively treat.  Chlorine dioxide being a true gas at room temperatures will follow the gas laws which state that it will uniformly fill up the environment that it is introduced into.  This means that the gas will reach all surfaces, and it will do so at an even concentration.

Logic tells us that a decontaminating agent will not be effective if it doesn’t come into contact with the pathogens.  As the target environment gets larger, or more complex with equipment and items inside of it, hydrogen peroxide has a great chance of failure.  Chlorine dioxide however, is unaffected by temperature, size, shape, and how full an environment is, maintaining its ability to distribute throughout the area and contact pathogens on all surfaces throughout.  This is why chlorine dioxide is able to be trusted for the toughest applications.

To learn more, join our webinar this Thursday at 2pm Eastern by clicking here.

Cannabis Decontamination Method Comparison

 

As Cannabis becomes a more mainstream industry, regulations will make cannabis production look more like food production each year. Most commercial cannabis grown today undergoes some form of decontamination to treat the industry’s problem of mold, yeast and other microbial pathogens. The decontamination process is in place to ensure that products meet a certain level of safety and quality. Like with produce, some antimicrobial treatments may themselves be harmful to the health of consumers and the integrity of the product itself. Not all remediation is created equally, and sadly, no method is perfect.

Autoclave

An autoclave system uses heat and pressure to kill microbes. They are available in different brands, configurations and sizes. This is an easy-to-use option, but it is time consuming. However, because it utilizes moisture, it does increase the risk of mold infestation. The final product may experience a change in color, taste and smell.

Dry Heat

Placing cannabis in dry heat is one of the cheapest methods, and it does not have any mold or yeast infestation issues. It is important to note that this method would most likely ruin product unless you plan to extract it.

X-Ray

X-ray is a highly effective form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. X-ray wavelengths are shorter than those of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The cannabis is placed in a lead-lined chamber that ensures the safety of the operator during the decontamination process. X-rays are produced from an internal vacuum tube once the lead lined chamber is sealed. The X-rays penetrate the cannabis and kill the microbes. What you are decontaminating is limited to the size of the chamber.

Ultraviolet Light

Ultraviolet light is a completely chemical-free way to combat molds and bacteria that plague cannabis plants. UV-C is energy from light that has been used to inactivate DNA-based contaminants since the 1850's. With UV-C technology, there is no residual left behind as there are no chemicals involved. The cannabis product is not altered by the exposure to UV light. Any exposed surface contamination, such as molds, bacteria, and viruses, are significantly reduced, if not eliminated entirely. While a quick and easy method, UV-C intensity does drop off with distance, so it is difficult to scale up.

Gamma Radiation

Gamma irradiation involves exposing the target material to packets of light (photons) that are so highly energetic (gamma rays) that they damage the DNA strands present. It reduces microbial growth in plants without affecting potency. However, it uses ionizing radiation that can create new chemical compounds not present before, some of which can be cancer-causing.

Radiofrequency

Radiofrequency, or RF, uses radio waves to make water molecules within the product vibrate and generate heat to kill microbes similar to how a microwave oven works. However, because it is dependent on moisture, microbes in dry areas of the flower are not effectively remediated, meaning dangerous microorganisms in these areas can continue to grow and spread even after the product has passed testing measures. Radiofrequency may also cause burns on the product, along with potential negative effects to potency, look, smell and taste.

Ozone

Ozone gas is a highly reactive oxidizing molecule that destroys the microbes’ cell wall, which enables the ozone to destroy all of the cell’s components: enzymes, proteins, DNA, and RNA. It is a true gas which readily distributes. This method greatly reduces the number of microbes but does not reduce the number to zero necessarily, because it breaks down quickly. Ozone at too high of levels, or levels that are not properly controlled, is dangerous to cannabis plants. At too low of levels, it really doesn’t have much of an effect at all.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide can be applied directly to the product, environment, and supplies through spray, fogger, or submersion to kill microbial life. A mild dilution of hydrogen peroxide and water is also an incredible insect repellent. Hydrogen peroxide may oxidize the surface of the flower which can alter the look, smell, taste and potency of the product. Also, vapors can condense, and the resulting moisture can cause more mold spores to germinate.

Chlorine Dioxide Gas

For a complete kill of all potential organisms, EPA-registered chlorine dioxide gas is the optimal way to fill an entire space evenly and completely, decontaminating every surface, crack, or crevice with no residues or additional cleanup. This treatment can be performed either in an enclosed chamber or easily scaled up to rooms, even entire facilities, if there is a widespread outbreak. As an oxidizer, at high use levels, chlorine dioxide gas can alter the look and taste of the product.

Read more about these commonly used by reading our Cannabis Decon Method Comparison.

Annual Decontamination of Pharmaceutical Production Facilities

Microbial contamination can be a difficult challenge for all sectors of the pharmaceutical industry. The presence of dangerous organisms in pharmaceutical facilities can lead to costly product recalls, which result in loss of revenue, customers, and brand reputation. By taking greater preventive measures, risk of microbial issues can be minimized or eliminated. Measures such as annual preventive decontaminations will help to eliminate the presence of any harmful organisms that would cause such issues. Performing an annual “deep clean” of your facility by decontaminating it with chlorine dioxide gas allows for a true reset to zero pathogens.

Chlorine dioxide gas provides a sterilization level fumigation of any enclosed space with minimal equipment and minimal downtime. True gases such as chlorine dioxide (CD) are the only truly effective agents for the decontamination of buildings, rooms, isolators, and biological safety cabinets as gases offer many benefits over other agents. It fills the space it is contained within completely and evenly, ensuring that no matter how large the target space is, no surface is left untouched including crevices and harbor locations. Chlorine dioxide is safe on materials and leaves no post treatment residuals. CD gas has successfully treated many pharmaceutical facilities to eliminate viruses, bacteria, mold, and beta lactams establishing sterility prior to production starting up as well as re-establishing sterility between batches or studies.

Case Study: Annual Shutdown Decontamination

The Bausch + Lomb Vision Care production facility in Greenville, South Carolina manufactures contact lens solutions in sterile processing areas within a clean environment. Each year, the facility closes for planned maintenance shutdowns. Though necessary, these shutdowns create unsterile environments because foreign equipment, tools, and people enter the clean areas. Therefore, the environment must be cleaned and disinfected before normal production resumes. Previously, this 300,000 ft³ facility underwent three cycles of detergent cleaning and water rinse followed by three treatments with Spor-Klenz. This required over a dozen personnel with mops and buckets over multiple shifts and a minimum of a week’s worth of time. The process was costly (consumables alone cost approximately $100,000) and had inherent failures in the process since it was a laborious manual process. The facility switched to chlorine dioxide gas decontamination. The result was a decontamination cost of under $100,000, a time savings cost of three days, and efficacy improved to a complete 6-log sporidical kill.

To learn more about the benefits of an annual decon, join our webinar on June 24 at 1pm Eastern.

Annual Decontamination of Food Processing and Manufacturing Facilities

 

Microbial contamination of food production facilities continues to be a challenge for the industry and can present a significant health hazard to human safety.  Sanitation after a contamination is hugely important, but preventive decontamination is equally significant and can reduce positive swabs in the future. Many times, bacteria are able to survive simply because of limitations of the cleaning method utilized by the sanitation program. By taking greater preventive measures, risk of microbial issues can be minimized or eliminated. Performing an annual “deep clean” of your facility by decontaminating it with chlorine dioxide gas allows for a true reset to zero pathogens.

In order for any decontamination method to work, every organism must be contacted by the agent, for the proper amount of time and at the correct concentration by an agent effective against that organism. Common sanitation methods like steam, isopropyl alcohol, peracetic acid, bleach and ozone have a limited ability to reach all surfaces within a space, and some are incapable of killing all microorganisms.

Failure to eliminate all pathogens will result in recontamination over time as surviving pathogens have time to multiply to large enough numbers where they can be transferred to other locations in the facility and cause a more widespread contamination. These recurring contaminations cost more money in the long run, especially if they are discovered by FDA and USDA inspectors. Chlorine dioxide gas has been proven to be a successful decontaminating agent capable of killing pathogens in areas that other sanitation methods fail to reach. Effective in both dry and wet conditions, chlorine dioxide gas has been used by the dairy, produce, meat, grain, spice, frozen, and beverage industries.

Preventive decontamination is essential, and chlorine dioxide gas offers the process advantages to reduce the risk of contamination and recall. An example of this would be a dairy powder processing plant had been decontaminating their production environment with chlorine dioxide gas annually for the past few years. Over this time, the facility made improvements to its equipment and the building itself in order to mitigate some of the issues that were uncovered after resetting the plant’s microbiome.  In one instance, the facility was able to trace a new contamination to a minor water leak into their plant.  More recently, it was determined that the environment was in much better control than in previous years as no pathogens were found in the environment.  With that information, the ClorDiSys service team entered discussions with the facility to amend the scope of the decontamination. Instead of treating the entire production environment, the decontamination would focus on the tanks and piping system up through to the packaging equipment.  This strategy enabled the facility to save both time and money as the treatment volume was dramatically reduced, while still acting as an annual sterility marker.

To learn more about the benefits of an annual decon, join our webinar on June 24 at 1pm Eastern.

Annual Decontamination of Life Sciences Facilities

In laboratories, vivaria, and research facilities, contamination control is critical.  Any contamination can affect the quality and results of the research and work taking place within the facility.  Routine cleaning and sanitation take place, but are aimed towards the most accessible areas such as floors, benchtops and common touch points.  Performing an annual “deep clean” of your facility by decontaminating it with chlorine dioxide gas allows for a true reset to zero pathogens.  By taking greater preventive measures, risk of microbial issues can be minimized or eliminated. Measures such as annual preventive decontaminations will help to eliminate the presence of any harmful organisms that would cause such issues. Decontamination with chlorine dioxide gas offers many benefits over other agents for such purposes.

Chlorine dioxide gas fumigation allows for the complete decontamination of a facility all at once with minimal downtime. Gaseous chlorine dioxide is the safest and most effective way to decontaminate BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories, passthroughs, biological safety cabinets, HEPA housings, and any other lab spaces. Unlike vapor or liquid based decontamination agents, chlorine dioxide will remain a gas over a wide range of temperatures and pressures, and gases are unaffected by room configuration and the amount or positioning of equipment. Our systems provide the ability to achieve complete distribution and penetration to each and every surface within your facility, including microscopic cracks and crevices to deliver an extremely high level of biodecontamination, something other agents such as vapors, mists, and fogs cannot promise. Our chlorine dioxide is gentle on materials and leaves no post treatment residuals so animal racks, cages, computers and other sensitive equipment can be left in these areas during the decontamination process. Rooms and equipment can be decontaminated all together in one single step thus eliminating the need for time consuming and costly autoclaving.

Depending on the size, facility decontamination can take place utilizing in-house chlorine dioxide gas generators or through ClorDiSys’ decontamination services. ClorDiSys provides services for routine or single-time events and specializes in contamination prevention and response for new and existing facilities. Chlorine dioxide gas has successfully treated many vivarium facilities to eliminate pathogens and pinworm eggs, new facilities to establish sterility, as well as facilities undergoing renovation. Whether it is a full room decontamination, or focused on separate equipment or components, routine prevention methods like annual decontamination will minimize the risks of a dangerous outbreak of pathogens by resetting your facility back to a true sterile state.

If you'd like to learn more, please join our Resetting to Zero: The Benefits of an Annual Decon webinar on June 24

Annual Decontamination of Cannabis Facilities

 

A cannabis product may fail contaminant testing if it has unsafe levels of microbials, heavy metals or pesticides. Among microbials, the most common is powdery mildew mold, aspergillus, or bile-tolerant, gram-negative bacteria. Each can have a dangerous effect on human health, especially in medicinal users who are immunocompromised. As testing regulations tighten over the cannabis industry, the need for high-level, effective decontamination options has become paramount. The heightened standards have seen approximately 20-30% of recreational product failing their microbial tests. To prevent their product from failing testing, companies need to maintain an optimum growing environment for plants and plan an annual decontamination to remove any and all microbial life.

When it comes to indoor grow operations, decontamination is of particular importance. Many cultivators struggle with mold and rot, never understanding the link between decontamination and a healthy grow operation. Tidying up spilled dirt, wiping down containers, and handwashing are basic sanitation measures. Decontamination goes beyond that. It eliminates organic threats like mold spores, fungi, viruses, and bacteria. Spores can spread and settle on many surfaces inside the grow room including lights, bulbs, and hardware. A scheduled downtime every year, whether it is room by room or the entire facility at once, offers the opportunity for complete decontamination to ensure sterility of the space. Chlorine dioxide gas is the optimal solution for any decontamination scenario as it is a gas at room temperature, ensuring it will come in contact with every spore on every surface, even the tiniest of cracks and crevices. Gaseous chlorine dioxide is an EPA registered sterilant that can be utilized prior to any plants entering the space to ensure any pre-existing microorganisms and their spores be remediated. The chlorine dioxide gas decontamination process can be easily scaled up to volumes of millions of cubic feet. Chlorine dioxide is also able to be quickly aerated as it will not condense on surfaces or absorb into many materials. ClorDiSys Solutions’ pure chlorine dioxide gas is one of the gentlest decontaminating agents available and should not be considered in the same as liquid chlorine dioxide products.

Most cannabis users rightfully assume the products they buy from dispensaries are safe and free from harmful pathogens. No matter whether decontamination is required by law, companies should still ensure their product is clean for their consumers’ sake. Scheduling an annual decontamination can provide that level of sterility needed.

Using the Flash-Thru as an Alternative to Spraying and Wiping

 In the Pharmaceutical, Biotech, Life Science, and Medical Device industries, companies need to produce product and perform research in areas with a high level of sterility. To do so, product manufacturing and testing occurs in expensive cleanrooms.  High amounts of attention are given to maintaining the cleanroom environment and often require personnel entering the cleanroom to undergo rigorous gowning procedures.  However, transporting in supplies & equipment into the environment brings forth added challenges.  Spraying and wiping items in order to disinfect them is the method commonly used, however this method is unreliable and inefficient.  Unsuccessful disinfection often occurs due to human error, insufficient chemicals used, inappropriate dwell time, or any number of other factors.   

When determining if a chemical agent is appropriate, there are several varieties; sporicides, disinfectants, sanitizers, and antiseptics.  All have very different intended uses and may or may not be appropriate for the application in mind.  If a chemical agent is chosen based on the application it is intended for, then one has to consider the necessary dwell time.  To illustrate the importance of dwell time, an example can be given of the extensive dwell time of bleach being over ten hours on a surface. 

Even if the proper contact time was achieved and personnel feel as though they are doing a good job, the manual procedure of spraying and wiping poses risk of not reaching all areas of an item that may harbor organisms.  Areas are often not considered, or not treated with appropriate attention which leaves contamination still present.   

However, another tool that can be used is Ultraviolet light (UV-C).  The major advantage to UV-C disinfection is the efficacy and the minimal time it takes to achieve that level of kill.  It is a fast, simple to use method that is capable of providing a 99% reduction of spores within minutes without chemicals.  This allows for little concern over material side effects due to the lack of dangerous residues needed to be wiped down or neutralized afterwards.  UV-C kills everywhere that the light is shining, meaning all exterior surfaces will achieve disinfection.  The limiting factor is if objects are sitting on a surface due to an inability to get 360 degrees of light exposure.  However, materials such as a quartz glass shelf placed within a UV-C chamber can alleviate that concern due to the penetration capability quartz glass has in comparison to most other materials.  An example of a device that complies with the needs of a cleanroom is the Flash-Thru UV-C disinfection pass-through.  The chamber is installed within a wall to allow for items coming into the cleanroom to be disinfected immediately prior to entry.  From the non-sterile side, one of the two UV-C protective doors is opened, then the user places the item(s) on the quartz glass shelf, assuring not to stack items, then the start button is pressed.  Depending on the target organism, kill can be achieved even as little as 30 seconds.  Once the lights cease, the opposite door located on the cleanroom side can be opened and the item can be retrieved.  This method of disinfection is appropriate for many applications, but especially electronics that are entering the space because it is very gentle and will get successful kill on items that would normally not be disinfected appropriately, or could be harmed with use of a chemical agent.  Cellular phones, pagers, tablets and computers are all examples of technology that would be pertinent to treat in this manner. 

To better illustrate the inefficacy of spraying and wiping surfaces alone, Animal Resources Centre in Australia performed various tests to better realize the inadequacies spraying and wiping resulted in.  In the testing below, organism colony counts were measured at three separate intervals.  Initial swabbing prior to any cleaning, secondary swabbing after spraying and wiping, followed by a final colony count after ultraviolet light was used in the space.  Completing the traditional cleaning eliminated many organisms, however many were still present.  The addition of ultraviolet light eliminated almost all remaining organisms that were still in the environment.  This experiment shows that ultraviolet light technology has the capacity to reach many areas that are often missed by humans, and can do so in a highly effective manner.

Utilizing Ultraviolet Light Disinfection in the ICU, Operating Rooms, and Patient Rooms

 Contamination control in the healthcare industry is a constant and prevalent problem. Hospital acquired infections (HAIs) have increased 36% over the past two decades although these infections are often preventable. Hospital settings do not provide an ideal situation for proper cleaning.  With many rooms having a short turnaround time between patients, it is very difficult to contact every surface in order to obtain a sufficient kill. One way for infection prevention and control programs to perform a quick, high-level disinfection is through the use of ultraviolet light. UV-C light provides a dry, chemical-free, and residue-free method of disinfection effective against bacteria, viruses, fungi and spores. Spores like C. diff, MRSA, and Multi Drug Resistant Organisms can all be eliminated utilizing ultraviolet light. Additionally, UV-C has been validated to deactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus.  Adding in a 5-minute UV treatment at the end of the normal cleaning and housekeeping routine can help reduce the risk of HAIs without a major change in operations.

There are three main sources of contamination concern within a hospital, the intensive care unit, operating rooms, and patient rooms. Studies determined that the most common HAIs may survive on surfaces for months and become a continuous source of transmission if not properly treated. Patient rooms can be quickly and efficiently disinfected with ultraviolet light between patients, after a high-risk patient occupancy, or periodically depending on the facility's needs. Surgical centers are extremely vulnerable places for transmission of infection. Operating rooms can be disinfected between surgeries or at the end of the day, depending on the schedule and needs of the facility. Environmental contamination may pose an even greater challenge in the ICU, where patients are critically ill with a higher risk level for infection. The contamination of surfaces in the ICU has been identified in outbreaks and cross-transmission of pathogens among critically ill patients.

Room disinfection systems like the Torch and Torch+ can be placed inside the patient rooms and surgical suites, killing any exposed harmful organisms after a few minutes. Find a space in the ICU and NICU for tabletop chambers like the Flashbox and Flashbox-mini which can disinfect masks, shared supplies, electronics, badges, and phones, some of the most contaminated things we encounter, in one minute or less. Built-in UV-C light fixtures like the Flashbar can also be implemented in the operating rooms over surgical tables and patient rooms over the beds. This provides the easy option of turning on the lights when the spaces are empty without needing to move extra equipment into the room on a daily basis, if not multiple times per day. For continuous air disinfection, The
Torch-Aire Recessed can be mounted in the ceiling safely operating throughout the day, even with patients and staff in the room.

Ultraviolet light disinfection provides a way for small items, as well as full rooms to be fully disinfected in the matter of minutes. It provides a low cost, simple approach to address areas often unable to be properly cleaned otherwise. ClorDiSys Solutions’ suite of products is the fast, chemical-free, easy-to-operate, and most effective way to disinfect your operating and patient rooms.

Our Experience During COVID

  

ClorDiSys Solutions, Inc is coming up on our 20^th anniversary at the end of this year.  We’ve had a lot to be proud of, including simply lasting 20 years.  I’ve worked at ClorDiSys since 2006, technically earlier as I helped out during college as my father and his partner started the business in my garage.  I have personally been proud of all that this company has achieved, including its growth to a company with a global reach, but more for its success in helping our clients keep their critical environments clean, allowing them to safely do their work feeding the world, developing cures for diseases, caring for their patients, and so much more.  When COVID hit, we knew we were in a place to help.  but none of us could have imagined just what was to come.  As a contamination control company, we were used to helping companies in a time of crisis.  Usually though, the emergencies were personal to that company, and they came to us 1-2 at a time.  COVID-19 affected everyone all at the same time.

I'll never forget the call I got from John Lowe of Nebraska Medicine.  I had worked with him years before on a research project, which led to them beta-tested some of our UV systems and eventually using them during the ebola crisis of 2014 as their Biocontainment Unit treated and discharged all the patients that arrived.  His phone call was pretty short, letting me know that they tested UV light as a method to disinfect N95 masks as the supplies were severely limited.  Before I could comment on how awesome that sounded, he told me they were publishing that story in the New York Times.  The next message was very clear, "get ready."

The next four months were a blur. We literally had to add phone lines to keep up with it all.  We came together though, sometimes running through the office with two phones in our hands, other times creating new workflows to manage and meet demand on the fly, and always being empathetic to whoever called for help.  At the time, it was stressful.  Our team had to scramble to source components from new vendors to keep up with demand in a world where supply chains were tested and global shipping was severely hindered.  We were able to streamline our production, building equipment more efficiently than before.  We stayed late, testing equipment the same day it was built in order to ship it out faster.  Our team drove packages over to the shipping company at the end of the day after our daily pickup so our clients didn’t have to wait an extra day to receive their products.  The Marine's have a slogan, "Adapt, Improvise, Overcome," and we borrowed that mission statement for the rest of the way to do our jobs so that others could do theirs.  At a time when many businesses were forced to close, we were able to help out our communities by hiring workers to meet the swelling demand.  At the peak, we doubled the size of the company, converting our office spaces into socially distant production spaces.  The impact our team had went further than we ever imagined it could.

Our Disinfection Services Team was tapped to travel across the country to treat facilities shut down by the virus.  It’s a weird feeling being in an empty airport traveling during a pandemic to go into a building that its employees are banned from entering.  People thanked us for doing our job, that was also a weird feeling.  There were a number of businesses where we provided a weekly high-level disinfection to reduce the risk of infection and increase employee comfort levels.

Our Lantern UV systems are being used by EMS, Police and Fire Departments across the country to disinfect their vehicles between uses. 

Many of our UV light systems were used to disinfect N95 masks according to the "Nebraska Protocol" in an effort to stretch stockpiles as supply dwindled globally.  

Our Torch UV systems were utilized in Mobile COVID-19 Testing Centers, routinely disinfecting them to reduce the risk of contamination between a positive patient and a negative patient.  We even placed a few of our Torches on television sets as production started back up.

Our Flash-Tunnel, a UV disinfection tunnel, is being used to disinfect the COVID-19 vaccine packages coming off the production line.

Our Flashbox and Flashbox-mini UV chambers are helping to disinfect shared tools and items, including ID badges, thermometers, pens and more at security gates, visitor’s entrances, and other entry points.

Recently, our CD Gas Decon Team performed a decontamination of a COVID-19 vaccine production facility, ensuring that it was free of pathogens prior to it going online. 

It has been great seeing our products and services help so many people in so many ways during this pandemic.  It has been far more fulfilling seeing our people step up to help out over the course of this past year.   At the time it was stressful, but looking back, its remarkable to know the positive impact that our team was able to provide to so many people in such difficult circumstances.  None of us at ClorDiSys were ready for what the past year would bring, but the way our team handled itself has been what I’m most proud of.   

Kevin Lorcheim

Sr. Manager

COVID-19 Vaccine Production Facility Decontamination

 

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, ClorDiSys has been proudly helping essential businesses protect their workers and operations by providing contamination control solutions.  Recently, our Decontamination Services team assisted a contract manufacturer prepare their facility for the production and storage of COVID-19 vaccines.  This facility had previously been used in the production of a beta-lactam antibiotic, which offered the unfortunate possibility of cross-contamination of the beta-lactam used.  With anywhere from 10-20% of the general population having some allergic reaction to penicillin or other beta-lactams, the facility required a true complete decontamination in order to guarantee the safe manufacture and storage of the new vaccines.  In order to mitigate this risk, it was decided to treat the area using chlorine dioxide gas.  Having been shown effective against a variety of beta-lactams, chlorine dioxide gas presented a verified process of treating the entire environment.  In this case, the facility treated the environment after removing all prior equipment and before the installation of the new equipment.  The decontamination took place over the course of two days, and the facility was able to start installing equipment the next day.  We have always been proud of the work accomplished at ClorDiSys over the past twenty years and assisting in the safe production of vaccines to end the COVID-19 pandemic ranks pretty high up on our list of achievements.  Look for our blog post next week for more info regarding how we've assisted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

When a cannabis grow room is empty, that is the ideal time to implement a complete decontamination of the space. A complete removal of all microbial life including fungi, bacteria, spores, and viruses requires a sterilization-level process. A sterile environment from the start, as well as only sterile items being introduced into that environment, will help best assure lack of mold and other contaminants. A sterilization at the end of every harvest is also good insurance no pathogens will proliferate when the next crop starts.

Gaseous chlorine dioxide (CD) is an EPA registered sterilant that can be utilized prior to any plants enter the room to ensure any pre-existing mold spores or other microbial contaminants be remediated. For a complete kill of all potential organisms in the entire facility, chlorine dioxide gas is the optimal solution as it is a gas as room temperature, filling the entire space evenly and completely, decontaminating every surface, crack, or crevice with no residues or additional cleanup. CD gas is non-carcinogenic, non-flammable, and safer on materials than bleach, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide.

Ultraviolet light (UV-C) is an easy way to achieve high-level disinfection to any exposed surface in minutes. This chemical-free and residue-free disinfection method will help reduce mold spores, therefore minimizing future risk of exposure to the cannabis plant. This is best utilized in a completely clear space to ensure maximum exposure to the UV-C light. Ultraviolet light disinfection is a fast, simple to use method, capable of providing a 99% reduction of spores within minutes without any dangerous residues to be wiped down or neutralized afterwards.

Controlling mold and other microbial contaminants is essential to any operation as it is a strong threat to cannabis. Before plants enter the grow room, whether it is a new facility or at the end of harvest, measures should be taken to ensure no dangerous organisms are present that can result in wreaking havoc on the new crop. Read more about ultraviolet light disinfection and chlorine dioxide decontamination technologies providing efficient kill of molds and spores as well as other common bacteria and viruses.

 

Disinfecting Air with UV-C vs. Filtering Air with HEPA Filters

With the ongoing pandemic continuing to affect the world we live in, more people are trying to improve the indoor air quality of their homes and businesses. HEPA filters and ultraviolet light are two common methods of air purifying. While both of them have the same goal of improving indoor air quality, the technology behind them is quite different and the type of air pollutants they can remove differ. No air purifier is perfect and without flaws. Both HEPA filters and UV-C light air purifiers come with their own set of benefits and disadvantages.

A HEPA filter is a “high-efficiency particulate air” filter made up of strands of randomly aligned synthetic fibers or glass. HEPA filters have been used by hospitals and in research environments for a long time. They are designed to trap particles that can come from pollen, pet allergens, viruses, mold and bacteria. The standard for HEPA filters is based on the (MPPS) most penetrating particle size of 0.3 microns. In order for a filter to be designated as a HEPA filter, it must meet international standards (ISO) to remove 99.95% of particles. In the United States, the standard is removal of 99.97% of particles. One important thing to remember about HEPA filters is that particles like viruses and bacteria are only trapped by the filter. If you do not replace them, then the air cleaning effectiveness goes down, and unclean filters can become a hotspot for dangerous pathogens. For this reason, it is recommended that proper PPE be used when replacing the filters. 

Traditional sanitation procedures typically do not include Air Handling Units or their accompanying ductwork. Formaldehyde used to be the most prevalent decontamination method used to attain a 6-log sporicidal kill of HEPA housings. This method was effective, but the process typically took over 12 hours and held considerable safety concerns, as formaldehyde is a carcinogen known to leave residues. When decontaminating with chlorine dioxide gas, it is often times very easy to include the ductwork and air handling system (even HEPA housings) in the scope of the project. CD gas penetrates through HEPA filters as if they are not there, and being a dry gas, it is able to navigate the bends of the ductwork system without condensing and getting "stuck."

Ultraviolet light air purifiers remove harmful pathogens from the air by actually destroying viruses and bacteria, not just capturing them. When a micro-organism is exposed to UV-C, the nuclei of the cells are altered due to photolytic processes. This process prevents further replication and causes cell death. The AirGlow is an in-duct ultraviolet light disinfection system that can be installed in any HVAC system. The AirGlow reduces and/or eliminates the growth of bacteria, mold and spores. It can also prevent the spread of airborne transmitted diseases including the flu and SARS-CoV-2 virus. As air passes by the quartz glass bulbs of the AirGlow, the travelling air is disinfected, and harmful organisms that may have been present are killed. To improve energy efficiency, the AirGlow can be positioned parallel to the cooling coils. When used on cooling coils, the Airglow is used to reduce biofilms that can accumulate on the coils. Clean coils can deliver a 30% increase in cooling capacity which in turn reduces energy consumption and costs.

HEPA filters clean the air with the use of filters located inside the air purifier. As polluted air passes through the device, HEPA filters capture many of these harmful pollutants and keep them trapped inside. HEPA housings should be decontaminated prior to filter changeout. Alternatively, ultraviolet light air purifiers use certain UV wavelengths to literally destroy airborne pathogens. Both of these devices ultimately share a common goal – clean indoor air – but one does not necessarily substitute the other.

Maintaining High Level Contamination Control with Passthrough Chambers

A clean room is only as clean as the items (and people) who enter it.  Autoclaves are utilized to sterilize some supplies and materials entering an aseptic area, but not all materials are compatible with a steam sterilization process.  Electronics and other materials that are incompatible with either high heat or moisture cannot be processed within an autoclave.  Those materials are typically wiped down with a liquid disinfectant, which ultimately offers a lower kill level and a potential for human error not wiping all surfaces properly.  The risk is greater for more complicated instruments where wiping hard-to-reach surfaces is impossible, such as the internals of a laptop computer.  Over the past 20 years, we’ve been working to identify and offer solutions to some of the gaps we find when working in barrier facilities.  Eliminating the risk of human error through the use of touchless pass-through chambers utilizing either chlorine dioxide gas or ultraviolet light is one such solution.

CD Gas Passthrough Chambers

As an EPA registered sterilant, chlorine dioxide gas can be used to ensure that items entering your facility are completely free of pathogens and unwanted organisms. Chlorine dioxide gas passthrough chambers can be utilized to decontaminate (or sterilize) items entering a barrier.  We’ve worked with Rack Washer manufacturers within the Life Science industry for over 15 years collaborating on Chlorine Dioxide Gas Decontamination Chambers as well as custom sized CD Gas Passthrough Chambers.  Both chambers are designed for the quick and easy decontamination of items within any governmental, pharmaceutical, laboratory, research or surgical setting. Passthrough chambers can be easily integrated into a new cleanroom design or installed into an existing cleanroom. It is used in conjunction with a chlorine dioxide gas generator to provide a rapid, fully automated, and highly effective method to sterilize computers, electronics, medical devices, sterile products, instruments, and components at ambient temperatures.  It also provides a cost-effective method to decontaminate components, parts, supplies, and equipment entering a “sterile” or “clean” facility at room temperatures and without the need for an expensive, space consuming, energy consuming sterilizer.  Passthrough chambers can also be used when removing items from a dirty or BSL level area to a clean area without the concern for cross contaminations.

The chlorine dioxide gas generator combined with a passthrough chamber features a sophisticated sterilant concentration monitoring system to ensure a tightly controlled sterilization process. All instrumentation, including the photometer for concentration monitoring, is easily calibrated to traceable standards. The process is easy to validate due to the repeatable cycle, tight process control, and highly accurate sterilant monitoring system.  A run record is produced that contains: date, cycle time, as well as relative humidity, temperature, pressure, and chlorine dioxide concentration. The equipment is available in a variety of sizes to meet your processing needs and can be manufactured with either a single door or double door pass-through orientation. A door interlock system is also available.

UV-C Passthrough Chamber

There are also UV-C passthrough chambers to disinfect small electronics, tools, components, and other liquid sensitive items entering a barrier facility or clean room. The Flash-Thru Chamber allows for the quick disinfection of items entering a sterile area using ultraviolet light. This chemical and liquid free system allows for the quick disinfection of tools and equipment quickly and efficiently treated upon reception and brought into the barrier. The Flash-Thru utilizes standard 110-240V electricity and supplies a UV-C dosage sufficient for achieving a 99% reduction of most viruses and bacteria within one minute. High-output UV-C bulbs last up to 16,000 hours. Their placement throughout the chamber interior, along with quartz glass shelving, ensures proper coverage of all items passing through to be fully disinfected.

Bringing equipment, tools, and supplies into a barrier facility is a potential pathway for pathogens to enter clean rooms. To learn more about pass-through chambers which can help eliminate dangerous organisms and preserve the sterility of your facility, visit our Products page and contact us to determine which option is best suited for your needs.

Decontamination of HEPA Housings

HEPA housings can undergo a decontamination process for multiple reasons.  Most frequently, HEPA housings are decontaminated prior to filter changeout. They can also be decontaminated as part of a yearly routine or during construction/renovation.  HEPA housings can be on the supply or exhaust side of an HVAC system for a facility. On the supply side, they are purifying the incoming air to maintain sterility for a clean facility. On the exhaust side, they are purifying the air exhausting a facility that works with biologically hazardous organisms to prevent their escape.  

Formaldehyde used to be the most prevalent decontamination method used to attain a 6-log sporicidal kill. This method was effective, but the process typically took over 12 hours and held considerable safety concerns. Formaldehyde is a carcinogen known to leave residues behind.  Both of these attributes are concerning, especially if a HEPA housing is on the supply side of the room.

Hydrogen peroxide vapor is another decontamination method utilized for HEPA housing decontamination.  Due to adsorption issues into the HEPA filter itself, aerating HEPA housings can take considerably longer and typically lasts overnight.  Adsorption into the filter material can cause uneven concentration amounts on either side of the filter too, potentially limiting the success of the decontamination.

Chlorine dioxide has become a more optimal decontamination method, especially when considering HEPA housings.  Chlorine dioxide gas works faster, with overall cycle times between 1.5-3 hours.  Part of this is because chlorine dioxide does not leave a residue and the aeration time is shorter.  For exhaust HEPA housings, aeration is accomplished by simply turning on the exhaust blower and opening the “infeed” and “exhaust” dampers on a HEPA housing. This method aerates a HEPA housing in under a minute. For supply HEPA housings, this is accomplished by using a carbon scrubber to break down the CD gas. This method aerates a HEPA housing in under an hour.

To read more about decontaminating HEPA housings, please click here.