Let’s make the railways COVID-Secure and get the UK moving again

I recently wrote the below article, which appeared in Rail Professional magazine. It highlights our solutions which can destroy the virus pre-infection by cleaning surfaces and sterilising the air with a simple medical technology that has been proven for over 80 years - Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI). Read on to find out more.

The railways are critical to re-igniting the UK – and simple solutions exist that can help passengers and sta­ff feel safe from Covid-19.

Transmission of Covid-19 is simple. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it spreads primarily from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth, which are expelled when a person with Covid-19 coughs, sneezes, or speaks. These droplets are relatively heavy, do not travel far and quickly sink to the ground. People can catch COVID-19 if they breathe in these droplets from a person infected with the virus or transfer it from droplet-infected surfaces to their faces.

Lockdown may be easing and hopefully a second spike won’t appear, but with the economic figures getting worse, the need to get the country moving again is self-evident.

We all hope that a vaccine will be developed soon, but realistically it’s going to take a while. What I find strange is that it’s taken a long time for the world to start searching for other ways to start to at least control this virus and, yes, once again, it’s not about looking for new technology. Solutions have been around for many years, our search for the new has blinded us to how we can adapt old technology to today’s needs.

Tackling COVID-19 – an engineer’s perspective

ASHRAE – ­The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers seeks to advance heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems design and construction. It has over 57,000 members in 132+ countries worldwide.

ASHRAE has approved the following two statements regarding transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the operation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems during the Covid-19 pandemic: ‘Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through the air is sufficiently likely that airborne exposure to the virus should be controlled. Changes to building operations, including the operation of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems, can reduce airborne exposures.’

‘Ventilation and filtration provided by heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems can reduce the airborne concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and thus the risk of transmission through the air.’

Shine some light on the problem: UV-C

Germicidal Ultraviolet light has, for over a century, been a proven technology for destroying bacteria, viruses and other micro-organisms harmful to human health. Ultraviolet (UV-C) light kills or inactivates micro-organisms by destroying their RNA and DNA. For the less scientific amongst us who know of DNA but not RNA, Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. RNA and DNA are nucleic acids, and, along with lipids, proteins and carbohydrates constitute the four major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life. So now you know!

Ultraviolet (UV-C) technology is a nonchemical approach to disinfection which is inexpensive, non-polluting and low maintenance. It kills bacteria and viruses even after they have become vaccine and chemically resistant, as proven against ‘­ e super-bug’, MRSA.

UV light is non-ionising electromagnetic light radiation, transmitted in the form of waves, which are described by the wavelength and measured in nanometres (nm). ­ The UV light spectrum is located between the blue end of visible light and x-rays (400nm to 200nm) and split into three spectral range classification bands:

UV-A (315 nm – 400 nm)

UV-B (280 nm – 315 nm)

UV-C (200 nm – 280 nm) ‘Germicidal Light’

UV-C, otherwise known as ‘Germicidal Light’ causes the DNA and RNA of a virus, pathogen or micro-organism to become inactive by breaking the internal strands and ‘glueing” the ­ Thymine within the DNA together. This “glueing” is non-reversible and inactivates the DNA and kills the virus.

A brief history of UV-C light

The NOBEL PRIZE for Medicine was awarded to Niels Finsen in 1903 for his use of UV-C against the bacteria ‘lupus vulgarism’ which creates tuberculosis on the skin.

In the 1930s, the first commercial UV-C germicidal lamps were used, primarily in hospitals.

In the 1950s, UV-C was incorporated into air handling equipment. It became a major component in the control and eradication of tuberculosis.

In the 1970s, concerns over chemical use for sterilisation and vast improvements in UV-C lamp manufacturing prompted greater use of UV-C Germicidal Technology.

UV-C was deployed in hospitals in the 2000s to kill what had become vaccine and chemical resistant ‘SUPER-BUGS’ such as MSRA.

UV-C can make the railways Covid-Secure

A crowded train is probably the perfect environment for the propagation of microbial hazards. With bodies closely packed and minimal air circulation throughout carriages, the transmission of microbes through breathing another person’s infected exhaled air or touching a potentially contaminated surface such as a seat or handrail is likely. Undisturbed air could allow harmful microbes to linger for up to three hours.

Equally, a depot is vulnerable because when trains come in for repair or planned servicing, they could be carrying dangerous microbes. Start thinking about this and it’s clear that there are multiple areas on the railway network that are at risk, from control rooms, signalling centres, equipment rooms, retail outlets at stations, platforms, drivers’ cabs, staff facilities – essentially, any contained area.

TenBroeke sources the best solutions to help the rail industry. In the case of Covid-19, we have partnered with Pathogen Prevention Ltd (PP-L) which delivers UV-C solutions that can disinfect any area used by passengers and staff.

The PP-L system continually cleans the air whilst vehicles are in service by either being fitted in people occupied areas or installed within the heating and ventilation system. If fitted into a HVAC system, it sterilises the air before it is circulated whilst also keeping key components within the circulation system free from microbes. Critically, the PP-L system can be used for deep cleaning and air filtration without impacting revenue earning services.

Surfaces can be difficult to clean thoroughly using conventional methods. PP-L has a solution using a fixed UV-C surface disinfectant system so that rooms can be cleaned efficiently and quickly either at night or at times of intermittent ‘zone’ closure during the day.

The TenBroeke Co and PP-L Pro strategic alliance

TenBroeke Co Ltd is an independent international advisory company focused on the delivery of major infrastructure projects. We offer a range of products and services, through our own resources and in partnership with market leading companies, that meet specific challenges rail organisations face.

Today, TenBroeke believes it is important for the rail industry to show customers that it is doing all it can to reassure them of the care it is taking over the safety of their journeys, and to restore traveller’s trust in the safety of rail services. Hence, our strategic partnership with Pathogen Prevention Ltd (PP-L) – a Health Technology specialist in solutions that kill bacteria, micro-organisms, coronaviruses and deadly pathogens in the air, on surfaces and in liquids.

Together, we provide a unique blend of proven technologies that actively destroy harmful micro-organisms and help organisations to create areas that are safe from pathogens and viruses – in particular Covid-19. Let’s all work together to get the railways moving! 

Visit www.pplpro.co.uk to find out more.