Decontamination & Disinfection

HVAC Systems

KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DECONTAMINATION AND DISINFECTION

RISK MANAGEMENT

The first and most important duty facing management is how to prepare an appropriate risk management policy and then implement the procedures based on proven and best global practices.

DECONTAMINATION

Decontamination is a process to clean and remove contaminants and microorganisms from solid surfaces. The method of application and choice of disinfectant is an important consideration because chemical residue and wet spray or mist is harmful
and can damage electric/electronic components due to corrosion over time.

OVERCOMING THE LIMITATIONS OF MANUAL CLEANING

Clean does not always mean disinfected

Harmful microorganisms can survive on poorly cleaned surfaces and it is simply impossible to get to all areas during the cleaning process. Infection control personnel in hospitals perform disinfection processes after terminal cleaning to create a truly clean environment.

Despite proper training and assessment of cleaning operatives and the use of adequate cleaning/disinfection products, even hospital environment-related infection rates cannot be lowered above a certain level. It might be because of an intense workload, lack of motivation, or the oversight of some potentially contaminated surfaces.

In some situations, the risk of acquiring an infection is too high to only rely on human performance.

COVID-19 is one of those risks where airborne disinfection and surface decontamination using Nocolyse should be considered for the complete destruction of dangerous pathogens.

Hard To Reach Areas In A HVAC System

When one deals with COVID-19 and other infectious pathogens, every square mm must be cleaned and disinfected and this is very difficult to achieve with a manual deep cleaning process.

Hard to reach areas include:

Between fins in heating and cooling coils
Behind louvres, dampers and grilles
Behind and in fan inlet systems
Within supply and return air ducts
Between air handling unit panels and joints
On filters and their frames
Airborne spaces in air handling units and plant rooms
The spaces being supplied by airconditioning

DISINFECTION

Disinfection is a process to kill (destroy the DNA) pathogens including COVID-19. Every square mm in the most impossible to reach areas is disinfected including air spaces where airbrone pathogens are transported in the airflow.

THE NOCOTECH AUTOMATED CONCEPT FOR DISINFECTION

The Nocotech automated concept of disinfection consists of a submicron diffusing process using a biodegradable disinfectant (Nocolyse, Nocolyse one shot, Nocolyse food) which is dispersed via an automated disinfection device. The disinfection device transforms the disinfecting liquid into a completely dry fog. This is achieved by generating a particle size of less than 5 micron through high-speed diffusion.

The process therefore creates a dry gas which disinfects all surfaces without exception. This is particularly useful for unreachable areas which are difficult to get to and clean manually. Every square centimeter of the space is disinfected with a lethal effect on COVID-19 as well as staphylococcus (including MRSA), enterococcus (including VRE), H5N1, H1N1, legionella, aspergillus niger, candida albicans and other highly infectious microorganisms to > 6 -log reduction.