|
|
 How to Select & Use a Portable UV Light to Purify or Sterilize Drinking Water
|
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
Effectiveness of UV lights to purify water: This article explains portable or handheld UV-type water purification systems that can be used to sterilize water for drinking purposes. Portable drinking water sterilizers: this article series outlines methods to purify or sanitize drinking water in an emergency following a disaster such as an earthquake, flood, or hurricane.
Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman.
Guide to UV Lights for Emergency Water Purification
A companion article, DRINKING WATER - EMERGENCY SOURCES,describes possible sources of drinking water that may be useful in emergency conditions. See WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT CHOICES for details on other water treatment options. The good news is that there are types of water filters and water filtration systems that can treat water containing various microbes including bacteria, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium cysts, as we discuss just below.
If you are looking for information on home water filters to be installed on plumbing systems in regular use, such as filters used to remove dirt, silt, sediment, iron, and odors from well water, see WATER FILTERS.
Portable UV Light Sterilizers for Emergency Drinking Water - the SteriPEN®
The SteriPen® Classic is a portable UV water purifier that can treat a liter of water, using ultraviolet light, in 1 1/2 minutes. The manufacturer informs consumers that UV light destroys viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. The microbes covered by this description include Cryptosporidium, viruses, bacteria, and Giardia, and also E. coli, Salmonella, Staph, and Strep.
The SteriPen® works by combining a battery-operated UV light combined with a mixing wand that is inserted into a container of water. The SteriPen weighs 5.7 oz, and as you can see even in our package photo, it is quite compact.
To operate the SteriPen® the user uses a slide switch to select the volume of water to be treated and to turn on the device. The UV lamp-end of the Steri-Pen is inserted downwards into "clear water" (see our warnings below), and the water is stirred until the indicator light (basically a timer) turns green.
SteriPEN, produced by Hydro-Photon, is also available as a Traveler Mini (weight, 3.6 oz, capacity: 1/2 liter of water in 48 seconds) and the Adventurer Opti (3.6 oz., 100 treatments per battery, rechargeable model and solar-recharging case available).
Hydro Photon describes the SteriPEN (portable UV light water treatment system) as treating water containing these microorganisms:
- Bacteria (including wide range of species)
- Campylobacter (cause of bacterial diarrhea)
- Cholera
- Cryptosporidium (cyst containing protozoan parasites)
- Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains (E. coli O157:H7) causing illness (such as in sewage contaminated water supply)
- Hepatitis
- Legionella
- Protozoan parasites
- Salmonella
- Shigella
- Viruses
Watch out: Factors that affect the effectiveness and operating time of any UV light used to treat water in an effort to make it potable, or at least improve its potability include at least the following:
- What contaminants are present in the water. UV treatment does not address chemical contaminants, nor do some water filters.
- The water temperature. (The SteriPen includes a temperature sensor)
- The water clarity.
As we discuss in more detail at UV -ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT TREATMENT, the proper UV light selection for water treatment is critical in the success of this approach. The UV light must have been properly selected to handle the volume and flow rate of the water supply where it is installed. If ultra violet light is not of sufficient capacity to treat water flowing past its bulb it will not be effective. Therefore it is important to follow the manufacturer's instructions when using the SteriPen UV light portable device.
Portable UV Light Sterilizers for Emergency Drinking Water - Solardyne Portable Solar Powered UV Water Sterilizer
Solardyne makes a portable UV light system for treating drinking water, comprised of a battery-operated UV light through which water may be run for treatment. The battery is re-charged by a solar panel.
The Solardyne portable UV water treatment system is indeed movable, and in fact comes on wheels. It is not suitable for backpacking or lightweight camping however. Rather the solar powered UV light system is intended for treating water at remote camps, work sites, and for disaster or emergency response field use.
UV Light Effectiveness Against Giardia Cysts Questioned by Expert
UV Light & Giardia: Although the SteriPen producers describe this device as handling Giardia in water, not all sources agree that UV light will reliably and effectively kill cysts. -- [Dr. Omar Amin, of the Tempe AZ
Parasitology Center]. Websites that advertise use of UV light to kill giardia may be misleading.
UV light will kill Giardia trophozoites but the real concern for drinking water is the cysts, since it is the cysts from stool that appear there. Other treatment methods may be needed if Giardia is present in the water supply.
UV light for water disinfection where Giardia is present has, however, been successfully used in combination with chlorination as an approach to killing Giardia in water.
Watch out: OPINION: if the water you are treating is visibly dirty or murky, there is a significant risk that the UV light will not penetrate and act on microorganisms in the water nearly as rapidly, and additional pre-filtering steps and/or extended treatment time may be necessary.
Permanently-Installed UV Lights Installed on Private Well Water Systems
 UV Lights for water purification: UV Lights are not filters. UV lights for drinking water treatment are installed in some properties as a means to kill bacteria in a water supply.
We do not anticipate that UV light systems will be working in a disaster area, and we are doubtful that one can rely on this process for emergency drinking water purification: even if a UV light system is working, it will at kill bacteria and similar pathogens only.
But if emergency generators or emergency electrical power are being provided to run a local water pump intended to provide drinking water, be sure that power is also provided to the UV light or to any other water treatment equipment that is installed in your location.
Watch out: OPINION: if the emergency event that has led to loss of power and water included a severe storm or flooding or other event that has sent ground water or flood waters into a private well, that water may be contaminated with chemicals or other ingredients that were never anticipated by water treatment equipment already installed at a building. Therefore even if you return a private well and water treatment equipment to operation, the water may not be safe to drink. Seek advice from local emergency management authorities before drinking water from any water source following an emergency, and to be safe, until you get an "OK" on using local water sources, you'll want to rely on suitable portable water purification methods.
A UV light water treatment system will not remove chemical contaminants in a water supply. See see UV -ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT TREATMENT for details of residential type UV light water treatment systems as well as a discussion of when such systems are useful and appropriate.
Watch out: UV Light & Giardia: UV light does not kill cysts, according to Dr. Amin. Websites that advertise use of UV light to kill giardia may be misleading.
UV light will kill Giardia trophozoites but the real concern for drinking water is the Giardia cysts, since it is the cysts from stool that appear there. Other treatment methods may be needed if Giardia is present in the water supply.
UV light for water disinfection where Giardia is present has, however, been successfully used in combination with chlorination as an approach to killing Giardia in water.
Also see LIGHT, GUIDE to FORENSIC USE.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
...
Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia
Questions & answers or comments about buying & using a portable UV light as a water purifier - what can these devices accomplish and what potential hazards might remain?.
Ask a Question or Enter Search Terms in the InspectApedia search box just below.
Technical Reviewers & References
Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.
UV WATER DISINFECTION, PORTABLE - see detailed links at page top & left
- Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. (727) 595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com 11/06
- Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN, technical review by Roger Hankey, prior chairman, Standards Committee, American Society of Home Inspectors - ASHI. 952 829-0044 - hankeyandbrown.com 11/06
- Dr. Omar Amin, of the Tempe AZ
Parasitology Center, corresponded with one of our readers asking about peroxide: "You can use hydrogen peroxide if you want to
but we do not have a track record of percentage dilution".
Dr. Amin has done research for the US military and for the CDC.
- Aquamira™ chlorine dioxide water purification kits - see www.aquamira.com/
"Aquamira Water Treatment Drops were introduced to the Outdoor market in 1999 and have been a favorite of top outdoor guides and instructors ever since. Whether you are camping, traveling in a foreign country or faced with a disaster, our goal is to provide you with safe, pure and good tasting drinking water. Our complete line of water treatment products include leading edge purification and filtration technologies developed and tested in the lab and proven in the field. We offer systems and products that will provide water for a single individual or a village and almost anything in between."
- Cascade Designs, Inc., 4000 1st Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98134 U.S.A., Tel: 1-206-505-9500, Email: consumer@cascadedesigns.com, is the parent company of MSR, producing water treatment and other camping equipment.
- Katadyn™, a Swiss corporation provides water filters, desalinization equipment, and their Micropur chlorine dioxide water purification - see www.katadyn.com/usen/
"Katadyn offers a wide variety of water filtration and purification products suitable for any need. This allows outdoor enthusiasts and travelers to take along products for making their own drinking water when preparing their trips."
- Potable Aqua® emergency drinking water germicidal tablets are produced by the Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., Jackson WI 53037. 800-558-6614 pharmacalway.com
- Solardyne products are produced by Solar Dynamics, LLC., 5806 N. Williams Ave., Portland, OR 97217, Sales and Technical Support: (503) 830-8739, Email:
info@solardyne.com
- SteriPEN® is produced by Hydro-Photon, Inc., PO Box 675, Blue Hill, ME 04614. Tel: 207 374 5800
- Arlene Puentes, a licensed home inspector, educator, and building failures researcher in Kingston, NY. 11/29/06
- Wilderness Medical Society has advice about boiling water for consumption
- Princeton University - www.princeton.edu
- "Bacteria in Drinking Water" - "Chlorine," Karen Mancl, water quality specialist, Agricultural Engineering, Ohio State University Extension. Mancl explains factors affecting the effectiveness of chlorine in water as a means to destroy bacteria and other microorganisms. OSU reports as follows:
Chlorine kills bacteria, including disease-causing organisms and the nuisance organism, iron bacteria. However, low levels of chlorine, normally used to disinfect water, are not an effective treatment for giardia cysts. A chlorine level of over 10 mg/1 must be maintained for at least 30 minutes to kill giardia cysts. -- http://ohioline.osu.edu/b795/index.html is the front page of this bulletin.
- Crystal Clear Supply provides portable ceramic water filter purifiers and portable reverse osmosis water treatment equipment - see http://www.crystalclearsupply.com/category_s/7.htm
- "Do Iodine Water Purification Tablets Provide an Effective Barrier against Cryptosporidium parvum?", Starke, Jeffrey A., Bowman, Dwight D., Labare, Michael, Fogarty, Elizabeth A., and others, Military Medicine, 25 October 2001 [possibly a later version of this article appeared in 2005 -DF] http://www.amsus.org/military medicine/milmed.htm
- "Drinking Water Safety in Emergencies", University of Minnesota extension, extension.umn.edu/info-u/nutrition/BJ646.html
- FDA Warning about drinking hydrogen peroxide: www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/hydrogen-peroxide.htm This article cites a 2003 entry in Journal
of Food and Science on using Hy.Perox to sterilize vegetables, referring to E.coli - NOT to Giardia.
- www.epa.gov/ogwdw/mdbp/pdf/alter/chapt_2.pdf provides an article on use of disinfectants for water treatment
- This patent application for UV light sterilization www.patentstorm.us/patents/6565803.html Lists good references on water
purification for Giardia et als
- Giardia exposure limits for drinking water: see www.mass.gov/dep/water/drinking/standards/giardia.htm is the current regulatory exposure limit (your minimum target for
sterilization)
- Wikipedia on history of use of hydrogen peroxide: Information on Hydrogen peroxide as a sterilant is in Wikipedia at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterilization_(microbiology) HO2 has been
used for a long time, including by vaporization for sterilizing freeze dryers.
- Platypus water filters such as the Cascade bag type water filter are produced by Cascade Designs, Inc., 4000 First Ave. South, Seattle WA 98134, USA, Tel: 1-800-531-9531
- Potable Aqua® emergency drinking water germicidal tablets are produced by the Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., Jackson WI 53037. 800-558-6614 pharmacalway.com
- Principles and Practice of Disinfection, Preservation and Sterilization (Hardcover)
by A. D. Russell (Editor), W. B. Hugo (Editor), G. A. J. Ayliffe (Editor), Blackwell Science, 2004. ISBN-10: 1405101997, ISBN-13: 978-1405101998.
"This superb book is the best of its kind available and one that will undoubtedly be useful, if not essential, to workers in a variety of industries. Thirty-one distinguished specialists deal comprehensively with the subject matter indicated by the title ... The book is produced with care, is very readable with useful selected references at the end of each chapter and an excellent index. It is an essential source book for everyone interested in this field. For pharmacy undergraduates, it will complement the excellent text on pharmaceutical microbiology by two of the present editors."
The Pharmaceutical Journal: "This is an excellent book. It deals comprehensively and authoritatively with its subject with contributions from 31 distinguished specialists. There is a great deal to interest all those involved in hospital infection ... This book is exceptionally well laid out. There are well chosen references for each chapter and an excellent index. It is highly recommended." The Journal of Hospital Infection.: "The editors and authors must be congratulated for this excellent treatise on nonantibiotic antimicrobial measures in hospitals and industry ... The publication is highly recommended to hospital and research personnel, especially to clinical microbiologists, infection-control and environmental-safety specialists, pharmacists, and dieticians."
New England Journal of Medicine: City Hospital, Birmingham, UK. Covers the many methods of the elimination or prevention of microbial growth. Provides an historical overview, descriptions of the types of antimicrobial agents, factors affecting efficacy, evaluation methods, and types of resistance. Features sterilization methods, and more. Previous edition: c1999. DNLM: Sterilization--methods.
- Handbook of Disinfectants and Antiseptics, Joseph M. Ascenzi (Editor), CRC, 1995, ISBN-10: 0824795245 ISBN-13: 978-0824795245 "The evaluation of chemical germicides predates the golden age of microbiology..." -
This well-focused, up-to-date reference details the current medical uses of antiseptics and disinfectants -- particularly in the control of hospital-acquired infections -- presenting methods for evaluating products to obtain regulatory approval and examining chemical, physical, and microbiological properties as well as the toxicology of the most widely used commercial chemicals.
- When Technology Fails, Matthew Stein, Chelsea Green Publisher, 2008,493 pages. ISBN-10: 1933392452 ISBN-13: 978-1933392455, "... how to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failure, as well as practical information for dealing with water-quality issues even when the public tap water is still flowing". Mr. Stein's website is www.whentechfails.com/
- "Bacteria in Drinking Water" - "Chlorine," Karen Mancl, water quality specialist, Agricultural Engineering, Ohio State University Extension. Mancl explains factors affecting the effectiveness of chlorine in water as a means to destroy bacteria and other microorganisms. OSU reports as follows:
Chlorine kills bacteria, including disease-causing organisms and the nuisance organism, iron bacteria. However, low levels of chlorine, normally used to disinfect water, are not an effective treatment for giardia cysts. A chlorine level of over 10 mg/1 must be maintained for at least 30 minutes to kill giardia cysts. -- http://ohioline.osu.edu/b795/index.html is the front page of this bulletin.
- CHLORINE IN DRINKING WATER - Does Chlorine in Drinking Water Harm the Septic Tank? - Septic Tank Cleaning Advice
- CHLORINE IN SEPTIC WASTEWATER - Septic Tank Maintenance: Chlorine in Septic Systems - Septic Tank Maintenance Advice
- Drinking Water testing, contamination, correction - all topics
- Drinking Water Testing Advice for home buyers home owners home inspectors
- Choices of Water Tests & Fees: A Summary of Types of Water Tests, Degrees of Comprehensive Water Testing, Details of Water Test Parameters
- Cheating on water tests: Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - make sure your water test is valid
- Drinking Water Contamination and Pollution How to Detect, Test, Correct, and Prevent Well Water Contamination - US EPA - Groundwater
- Interpreting Drinking Water Test Results what the results mean and what to do about them
- Correcting Unsatisfactory Water what to do, when to do it, treatment alternatives, equipment, filters, etc.
- Water Treatment for Contamination, Hardness, Odors, Sediment, Etc: choices of systems, recommendations
- Drinking Water Contaminant Levels - Maximum Allowed
- How to Reduce Lead Contamination in Drinking Water: how to test & correction lead in drinking water
- Lead Contamination from Water Supply Lines/Entry Mains, Lead Testing & Correcting Contamination from - Lead Pipe Problems/Advice
- Ohio State University article on the concentration of chlorine necessary to act as an effective disinfectant, and the effects of the water's pH and temperature: See http://ohioline.osu.edu/b795/b795_7.html for details.
- Extreme Lead Poisoning Symptoms Suggested by Feb 2006 NY Times Article on Kosovo Roma Camps
- When and How to Shock or Chlorinate a Well - Procedure for Shocking a Well to (temporarily or maybe longer) "Correct" Bacterial Contamination
- Water Requirements, Home & Outdoor Living
- General water testing and corrective measure advice: contact your local health department.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
 The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. |
|
