Book stores and libraries are open again. After seemingly endless weeks, bookworms can finally borrow books again and stock up on new reading material. Unfortunately, visitors will often have to wait longer for new and coveted books, DVDs or other loan media, as these are “quarantined” by corona.
Coronavirus survives up to 72 hours on surfaces
Laboratory tests of a scientific study prove that the virus SARS-CoV-2 can remain on cardboard or paperboard for up to 24 hours, on plastic covers as much as 72 hours. For this reason, returned books or other lending media remain in quarantine for up to a week, depending on the desired degree of protection, before they are cleaned and put back on the shelf. What is merely intended to protect customers is in fact very frustrating in everyday life. This is true for employees who now have to manage and move around quarantine boxes labelled with dates. But it’s also the case for visitors, who often make their way to the library for nothing because the book they had hoped for is once again not available.
The solution for libraries: Thermal virus inactivation with the TES 200
Specially developed for use in municipal libraries, university or specialist libraries, the new TES 200 thermal disinfector with additional HEPA virus filtering is recommended for time-saving and uncomplicated surface disinfection of returned loan media.
Sounds a little medical? Well, it is! In hospitals and medical practices, thermal disinfection has long been regarded as a proven aid in the cleaning and decontamination of surfaces. Medical equipment is kept sterile and germ-free by means of thermal disinfection. Even for the decontamination of hygiene-sensitive respiratory masks, the process is approved for the multiple use of disposable masks in medical applications. And what disinfects syringes at the doctor’s and keeps operating theatres in hospitals sterile also reliably removes viruses and germs from book pages, book spines and, if necessary, even from the air in libraries.
No additional effort: heat treatment replaces 7-day quarantine
In simplified terms, the novel thermal disinfector TES 200 primarily treats the room air and generates different temperature phases in the range of 60 °C – 70 °C during the thermal treatment according to a complex heating system. This heating process leads to the inactivation of any SARS-CoV-2 viruses that may be present on the various rental media. Quarantine is no longer necessary and even subsequent surface disinfection is not necessary.
In practice, this is easy to do: the returned books, DVDs or Blue-Ray-Discs are no longer packed into countless boxes, but collected in a separate room. This room serves as a decontamination room. The mobile TES 200 heats the room temperature fully automatically according to a preset program, so that all media stored in the room are free of germs and viruses after a few hours. If required, thermal disinfection can also be carried out overnight when no employees are present. Then the books do not even have to be stored in a separate room, as all books on the library shelves are simply decontaminated overnight.
The advantages of thermal disinfection at a glance:
- Returned media are free of germs and viruses after only a few hours
- Popular media can be loaned out more quickly
- An additional wipe disinfection of the surfaces is not necessary
- If necessary, all books can be decontaminated overnight
The coronavirus poses an enormous challenge for book stores and libraries. At first, operation was almost paralysed. After reopening, it is now not only necessary to return to normal, but also to ensure the health protection of employees and visitors. Masks, disinfectant dispensers and social distancing rules are now just as much a part of the work as plexiglas panels at reception and distribution points.
Combined surface disinfection and HEPA virus filtering
The TES 200 was designed, produced and tested in various studies in Heinsberg – immediately after the first cases of corona infection in Germany became known. The primary objective of the Trotec engineers was to develop a device that was as multifunctional as possible to combat the new type of corona virus. For this reason, the TES 200 is available in various equipment versions. In combination with the HEPA virus filter manufactured exclusively by Trotec, the TES 200 is not only suitable for thermal disinfection but also for effectively keeping the room and breathing air clean.
More than half of all corona infections are caused by indoor air
Virologists, epidemiologists and scientists are now in agreement. The coronavirus spreads mainly through respiration. Particles emitted during breathing remain infectious in the air for up to several hours and are inhaled unnoticed by other people. Oral and nasal masks do not provide sufficient protection against these tiny particles, which are invisible to the naked eye. Therefore, consideration of the transmission path via the room air is becoming increasingly important. Of course, it is still necessary to protect against the dangers of droplet or smear infection. However, protection against viruses in the ambient air is equally important, especially in public areas. And this protection is provided by the TES 200 – equipped with a highly effective HEPA filter for effective indoor air cleaning.
99.995 % of all viruses and bacteria are filtered from the room air
The H14 HEPA filter, developed and certified in Germany, is characterized by a separation efficiency of 99.995 % for particle sizes from 0.1 to 0.2 µm. Or to put it another way: Even if 100,000 infectious virus particles such as SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2 are suspended invisibly in the room air as an aerosol, 99,995 of these particles are filtered out of the air.
In practice, indoor air cleaning is as practical as it is uncomplicated
If the TES 200 is not used for decontaminating books, it can be positioned flexibly in the library thanks to its mobile design and castors. The room air is sucked in near the floor, freed from bacteria and viruses by the HEPA filter and returned to the room as germ-free clean air. This dilutes spontaneously occurring aerosol clouds at head height directly with very large quantities of clean air in such a way that the viral load and risk of infection are significantly reduced!
There is no better protection for employees and visitors. Maximum virus and germ-free on-loan media as well as permanently filtered room air, to protect against the inhalation of infectious viruses.
The thermal disinfector TES 200 is available right away at the basic price of €4,754.05 in the Trotec online shop.
The Trotec team of experts will be happy to answer any questions you may have:
Trotec GmbH, Mr Jochem Weingartz
Telephone: +49 2452 962-137, jochem.weingartz@trotec.com
