Why Ultraviolet (UV)?

In recent years, water managers and government regulators have increased their focus on the use of ultraviolet (UV) light to kill bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. UV disinfection mimics a natural process, is literally “as old as the sun,” and offers some clear advantages:

• UV effectively kills a broad range of pathogens, including cryptosporidium, E. coli, and hepatitis A.
• UV is a simple and safe technique.
• UV is chemical-free.
• UV does not degrade the quality, taste, or odor of the water.
• UV does not create harmful disinfection by-products.
• UV can photo-remediate (eliminate) toxic volotile organic contaminants.

UV disinfection is not without its detractors.  However, virtually all of the criticisms of UV technology have had to do with - not the effectiveness of UV disinfection - but the most common method of delivering UV light: that is, using mercury continuous wave UV lamps. These lamps require periodic replacement and, because they contain highly toxic mercury, create serious health and safety liabilities. The UV output integrity of continuous wave lamps is compromised by thermally-induced fouling from minerals in the water, as well as inherently unavoidable changes in operating temperature/power. That’s why mercury lamps vary widely in their disinfection effectiveness.

SafeLight is a different kind of UV technology - with none of the problems associated with the outdated modes of delivering UV.  SafeLight’s Pulsed UV light produces some very compelling operational and safety advantages over the old mercury UV systems.