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Global Health Econ Sustain Global South: Healthier lives with UVC

(vii) Establish evaluation protocols, including robust 5. Future directions
data collection and analysis of the UVC LED
reactor: (a) establish routine maintenance schedules, 5.1. Emerging trends and advancements in UVC LED
aligning with the known life of the system and the technology
recognized system stressors; (b) establish acceptable UVC LED water disinfection may be a newer area in the
environmental effect parameters and monitor for any Global South; however, the rapid proliferation of research
deviance outside these boundaries. and applications in this area has shown the vigor for
(viii) Establish and maintain epidemiological surveillance advancing this technology. There is ongoing research
of diarrheal disease in the region: (a) determine and and system applications for UVC LED technology for air,
document acceptable concentrations of pathogens surface, and water disinfection. Many researchers continue
following disinfection that will effectively disrupt to find that UVC LED technology is effective at inactivating
disease transmission; (b) monitor disease clusters the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) and other dangerous
and points of origin, specifically when tied to the pathogens impacting public health (Browne, 2021; Juarez-
water sources feeding the point-of-use reactors. Leon et al., 2020; Sojobi & Zayed, 2022; Zaman et al., 2022).
(ix) Ensure that all protocols, policies, and regulations
are feasible for the community in which the system Another emerging trend in UVC LED water disinfection
will be implemented and reflective of the living is pairing UVC irradiation with other technological
conditions and resources of the area. techniques to improve efficacy across conditions. Some of
(x) Ensure that all protocols, policies, and regulations these advancements include combining UVC LED systems
are written in understandable language by those with electrochemical photoreactor systems (Hejazi &
implementing the water treatment systems. Taghipour, 2022) and advanced oxidation processes
(xi) Establish a schedule for reviewing and evaluating (Ghosh et al., 2022; Luo et al., 2022; Miralles-Cuevas et al.,
emerging technologies applicable to the UVC LED 2021), optimizing UVC LED technology through pulsed
water treatment systems. radiation strategies (Luo et al., 2022; Nyangaresi et al.,
2019; Ruiz-Díez et al., 2023), and many others.
It is important to note that water disinfected with
UVC light can still become recontaminated after storage, 5.2. Future research and development
especially in the Global South. Factors that can contribute UVC LED technology has many promising applications
to recontamination are as follows: that need further research and development (R&D).
(i) Poor hygiene practices: If people do not wash their
hands properly before handling water, they can Undoubtedly, there is a need for continued research into
transfer microorganisms to the water. the efficacy and efficiency of UVC LED water treatment
(ii) Dirty storage containers: If water is stored in dirty systems to address waterborne pathogens, as discussed in
plastic household containers, microorganisms this paper. In addition to the efficacy and efficiency of these
colonize and replicate in the containers and tubings systems, longitudinal studies examining their sustainability
(Jagals et al., 2003). and long-term environmental impacts are also necessary.
(iii) Unsafe storage due to leaking containers: If water Other potential areas for further R&D are improvements
storage containers leak, microorganisms can enter the to the efficiency, power, lifetime, cost, and reliability of
water from the environment, which can be a measured the LEDs used in the UVC LED systems (Zollner et al.,
source of waterborne diseases (Chalchisa et al., 2017). 2021). In addition to the advancements in LEDs, R&D
(iv) Warm temperatures: Temperature has been linked efforts for finding the optimal substrate material and size
to increased presence of bacteria in water (Powers in combination with the ideal UVC wavelength, exploring
et al., 2023). Microorganisms grow and multiply more the efficacy of disinfection at lower wavelengths, and
quickly in warm temperatures. developing more optimal operating parameters are also
To address recontamination problems, it is important crucial (Zollner et al., 2021). There are also opportunities to
to design appropriate water quality, storage, and supply develop smart systems and sensors that detect suboptimal
interventions (Levy et al., 2008), as well as educate conditions, serving as an indicator for component updates
people about the importance of proper hygiene practices at the consumer level (Wu et al., 2021). Further research
and how to store water safely. It is also important to into smart systems equipped with sensors could also lead
invest in clean water and sanitation infrastructure in to innovations in the mechanisms needed to activate
the Global South. These additional factors should be advanced disinfection within scalable systems or those with
considered when creating implementation infrastructure variable wavelength capabilities, which would allow smart
and regulations. systems to target specific pathogens and contaminants in a

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2024) 14 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.1984