>>8904912, >>8904935, >>8904939, >>8905227, >>8905236, >>8905314, >>8905323, >>8905377, >>8905385, >>8905417 (All pb notables.)

UV Light Bad for Bacteria and Viruses

Purely anecdotal tale about UV light being bad for Bacteria & Viruses. As a kid 50 plus years ago I spent lots of time in the mountains of central and western Montana. At that time I was told that if you found a long stretch (1000 ft or so) of shallow, clear water that was running quick in full sunlight, that the water would be safe to drink because of the effect of UV light on single cell organisms. The people that taught me this followed this rule and always drank directly out of creeks. I did so as well into my early 30's and never got sick once. On cloudy days or times when you could not find a section of creek that met ALL the criteria above, I boiled or chemically disinfected water if I needed more than I could carry. I can't prove the info is true but two decades of drinking straight from creeks without getting sick can't be all luck.