History of water disinfection with ultraviolet rays - new or old invention?

Since When Do We Know About UV Rays and Their Effects?

UV rays were discovered as far back as the Napoleonic era, specifically in 1801. The discovery was made simultaneously by two scientists independently of each other. They were the German physicist Johann Ritter (died 1810) and William Wollaston (died 1828), a Briton by origin. However, it was a long way to utilize UV rays for sterilization. First of all, it was necessary to wait until it became widely accepted among scholars that microorganisms, microbes, algae, etc., contribute to diseases (which was not obvious everywhere). Only then did scientists realize the need for disinfection or sterilization.

Throughout the 19th century, scientists in various countries, mainly Western ones, conducted various studies that demonstrated the bactericidal effect. For example, in 1903, Danish scientist Niels Finsen received the Nobel Prize in medicine for his research on the influence of ultraviolet beams, or UV, on bacteria causing skin diseases. Unfortunately, he did not continue his research for long, as he passed away a year later. At that time, dedicated units were driving the development of knowledge about UV rays.

But Water Disinfection with UV? Since When Has It Been Used?

This paved the way for water disinfection - the first UV sterilizer resembling somewhat today's models was constructed in 1910 in Marseille, France. However, it was very imperfect; the lamp burned out quickly, making it unsuitable for widespread use. Shortly thereafter, in 1916, a similar solution appeared in the USA, this sterilizer built in Kentucky was also far from perfect, and there was no question of its widespread use.

It took a while, especially since the two world wars in the 20th century caused various world governments to be less interested in financing research outside the scope of military technology.
Nevertheless, the private sector worked on the technology, which resulted in the first attempts at commercial use of this technology. In the interwar period, the first patents appeared, more or less successful. In 1930, for the first time, UV lamps appeared on the commercial market in the USA, mainly for hospital use. In the same year, in the USA, the first very significant scientific work appeared, which had a huge impact on the development of technology, authored by F.L. Gates. Generally speaking, in those days, sterilizers in the market did not turn out to be a hit, and they did not make a splash in the market until the peace after World War II.

After 1945, the Western world outside the USA was impoverished, and societies faced various serious problems resulting from the legacy of World War II.

Nevertheless, in 1955, almost simultaneously, Austrians and Swiss began to use UV disinfection in their water treatment plants. The idea quickly caught on, so that by 1985, there were already 1500 water treatment stations in Western Europe using this method. By the end of the 20th century, this number had quadrupled. This indicates that there was no doubt about the effectiveness of this method in many countries.
Today, it is difficult to estimate this number - this method is widely used in developed countries. In addition to public use, at the end of the 20th century, it became very fashionable to have private home sterilizers. The development of this technology undoubtedly results from the constantly deteriorating water quality and the increasing needs of humanity in this area. 

UV water sterilization technology is an excellent example of using knowledge and technology to protect health.

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