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Disinfecting the air with far-ultraviolet light
Devices that use wavelengths of sanitizing ultraviolet light that are safe for people could become a more common sight.
The Boston piano bar where Edward Nardell sings cabaret songs would typically be an ideal setting for airborne diseases to spread. But Nardell and his audience are protected from the COVID-19 pandemic by the far-ultraviolet (UV) lights that he had installed to shine down from the ceiling.
Far UV is an emerging form of germicidal UV (GUV) irradiation, a well-established disinfection technology and growing resource in the battle against the virus SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens that can spread easily through the air in enclosed spaces.
Indoor air safety begins with ventilation but it usually can’t end there, says Nardell, a physician and researcher in airborne infection at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. Ventilation systems that replace air in a room are rarely powerful enough to fully protect against coronaviruses and other easily caught diseases, he explains.
