Environmental Services

Patients can be at their most vulnerable when they are in a critical care environment of the operating room (OR) or the intensive care unit (ICU). That's why it's essential that these two areas of the hospital receive scrupulous environmental cleaning and disinfection per recommended practices. This Pulse explores environmental cleaning and disinfection issues pertaining to the OR and the ICU.

Chlorine, a disinfectant commonly used in most wastewater treatment plants, may be failing to completely eliminate pharmaceuticals from wastes. As a result, trace levels of these substances get discharged from the plants to the nation’s waterways. And now, scientists are reporting preliminary studies that show chlorine treatment may encourage the formation of new, unknown antibiotics that could also enter the environment, potentially contributing to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.

Just how efficacious are the cleaning and disinfection interventions performed in healthcare institutions? And what standard are hospitals using to evaluate cleaning efforts?  While it has been suggested that the food industry cleanliness standard (surface bioburden level of <2.5 cfu/cm²) be adopted in healthcare as an indication of relative cleanliness, there is still a lack of conclusive evidence that these levels of contamination relate to the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

This report explains the basics of germicidal ultraviolet light for application in the healthcare environment. It reviews the mechanisms for pathogen deactivation, plus explores the variables of UV-C efficacy, the caveats with the use of this kind of technology, and cost considerations. It also provides advice for evaluating and purchasing UV disinfection devices.