As we look at partial and eventually complete lifting of lockdown, queries are already being posed as to what the “new normal” will be, especially for large production organisations like Dockyards and other naval establishments, where a sizeable number of workers will resume work post lifting of lockdown and these numbers are expected to gradually increase.
The Indian Navy has found a solution for it. The top officers from Indian Navy and Naval Dockyard were working on it for last few weeks. Working in the “new normal” situation without affecting the production capability of the naval dockyards in the country was the one of the biggest worries for the Navy. This led to the strong need for a sanitisation facility for worker’s coveralls, tools, personal gadgets and masks. Naval Dockyard (Mumbai) has manufactured a UV sanitisation bay to meet this emerging requirement.
The UV bay will be utilised for decontamination of tools, clothes and other miscellaneous items, to control spread of the coronavirus. The challenging task required ingenuity to convert a large common room into a UV bay by fabrication of aluminum sheets electrical arrangements for UV-C lighting. The facility utilises UV-C light source for Germicidal Irradiation towards sterilising items.
The proven effect of UV-C on respiratory pathogens like SARS, Influenza, etc, is well established. It has been observed that microbial pathogens become significantly less viable when exposed to UV-C of intensity 1 J/cm2 for 1 min or more, indicating effective sterilisation.
A similar facility has also been set up at the Naval Station (Karanja), where in addition to UV-C steriliser, an industrial oven has also been placed, which heats smaller sized belongings to 60°C, a temperature known to kill most microbes. The facility is placed at the entry/ exit points where it will help in mitigating Covid-19 transmission.
