Original Date: 03/17/1997
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

In 1989, Polaroid’s Core Engineering Department began installing ultraviolet light water jackets for the humidifiers located in its air handling systems. These air handling systems service the comfort and health needs of the employee as well as the stringent production requirements for making instant print films. Treatment of the water used for humidification purposes is necessary to reduce the amounts of bacteria which would otherwise thrive in this constantly wet environment. Failure to condition the water would lead to poor indoor air quality, higher maintenance costs, and shorter life expectancy of equipment.

Conventional methods of water treatment rely on chemicals that are costly, require high maintenance, evaporate in the air stream, and typically need subcontractor support. The chemical delivery system to the humidifier also uses pumps or maintenance personnel which may result in spiking when the chemicals are first introduced at their highest concentrations.

Polaroid’s ultraviolet systems have reduced the typical inlet condition from 200 to 10 colonies of bacterial growth per cubic meter. This improvement was accomplished by using a single pass through the ultraviolet water jacket before the water is introduced in the humidifier. In addition, Polaroid has reduced its humidifier maintenance by 75% since installing the ultraviolet systems.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.