Esteemed UV researcher Dr. Ed Nardell, Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, has published a new essay in TIME Magazine. Dr. Nardell’s piece is an informative resource for understanding which forms of UV disinfection are effective for fighting the pandemic. As an expert working in the field since 1984, Dr. Nardell notes two things that have prevented widespread adoption of UV disinfection.
One is the public’s misunderstanding of UV tech,
Second is the market, which is flooded with devices of varying and sometimes questionable quality.
In the context of covid, Dr. Nardell writes, “we need to think clearly and scientifically about how better we can reduce the spread of viruses indoors especially when and where masks will no longer be in common use.”
Dr. Nardell points out that covid is likely to become seasonal, and disinfecting the air is crucial, due to the “vast majority of its spread is the result of inhaled aerosol, with a lesser amount attributable to direct contact with droplets.”
Evaluating the different types of UV disinfection on the market, Dr. Nardell states that “upper room UV is the most cost-effective and is demonstrably safe and readily available to deploy today to reduce COVID-19 and other respiratory virus transmissions.”
On the various types of UV light, he argues that Far UV “ has the remarkable properties of being equally or more effective against airborne viruses and bacteria, but unable to penetrate even the thin liquid layer covering the surface of the eye, or the outermost layers of skin.”
#UVC #safety
The leading researcher enumerated the many applications of Far UV in “ bars, salons, restaurant tables, elevators, [and] other high contact settings” and mentioned our recent installation at the Napoleon Room at Club Cafe in Boston, MA as an example.
Dr. Nardell adds that “Since the vast majority of COVID-19 likely spreads indoors, air disinfection is an underutilized role making indoor living safer.”
The article ends with advocating for unilateral adoption of Far UV air disinfection, due to its efficacy and efficiency.
Dr. Nardell concludes: “Implementation of effective air disinfection, while driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, should find its way into building codes and practices so that we are not as unprepared for seasonal respiratory viruses, ongoing epidemics like TB, and the next pandemic.”
Read also in TIME Magazine: This UV Lamp Could Prevent the Flu Virus From Spreading in Public Places, by : AMANDA MACMILLAN