Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, or UVGI, is a method of disinfection using UV-C germicidal light at the 254-nanometer (nm) frequency to kill or deactivate microorganisms. Introduced in the late 1800s, it first came onto the scene in 1903, when Danish scientist Niels Finsen received a Nobel Prize for medicine for using UV-C light to combat tuberculosis.
UVGI was used for water disinfection in the early 1900s, and for both water and airstream disinfection in the post-WWII era.