Article Information
Greg Whiteley recently completed and submitted his Doctorate Thesis “A study into the validation of ATP testing used for integrated cleanliness monitoring within healthcare settings.” He has published widely on ATP testing validation and field-based studies. He welcomes comments or questions at GSW@whiteley.com.au.
4/1/2016.
IICRC Journal of Cleaning Restoration Inspection. Peer reviewed technical journal. (Discontinued).
Article states: “The findings from the group of studies within my PhD showed both the strengths and weaknesses of ATP testing for cleanliness monitoring”. Whitely looks at strengths and weakness of ATP testing for cleanliness. ATP testing is a tool for measurement of surface cleanliness. Not disinfecting. It cannot distinguish between viable or dead microbial growth. It is not used for testing the air.
Does ATP testing test for disinfection (killing) or cleanliness (removing)?
Rating Breakdown
Why 4-Star? Well done paper. However, somewhat limited applicability for DDRS readers gives it less than a 5-Star Rating.
1-5 Stars System
- Positive: Greater than or equal to 4 (4.0 – 5.0) MUST READ
- Neutral: Greater than or equal to 3 but less than 4 (3.0 – 3.9)
- Negative: Less than 3 (2.9 – 0)
Search Tags Below
This is why we miss the IICRC Tech Journal and the Peer Reviewed articles they published. Excellent overview of ATP surface testing technology.
But the question always remains about using surface testing to rule out contamination, what can be concluded by analyzing a surface sample of a very small portion of surfaces as is done by wiping with swabs? Refer to the article by Dr. Harriet Burge “Further Thoughts About Surface Sampling” (https://1drv.ms/f/s!AibEvsWdh3cj7gRv3frz5fmJo70N)