When it comes to keeping our surroundings clean, we all are very cautious about the surfaces, however, air disinfection is generally overlooked. With offices, schools, restaurants and commercial activities gradually opening up, there’s a higher possibility of disease-causing pathogens getting transmitted from the air in such closed environments.

It is here that Upper-room Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation comes into picture, which is believed to destroy the bacteria and viruses floating in the air. “We have struggled in the past to see this highly effective, very safe technology fully implemented for airborne infections,” asserted Dr. Edward A. Nardell, a professor of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School while speaking to The New York Times a couple of months ago. “We’ve done the studies. We know it works.”

That Sunlight disinfects is a universal fact and this technology would mean bringing the same, indoors. Putting the debate of harmful effects of UVA and UVB rays to rest, this upper-room UV technology makes use of UVC light, which is considered safe for humans. Though it can cause irritation on the skin and in the eyes, it is said to clear up in a couple of days. To be more prudent, the light is usually placed at a height way above people’s head or is generally put to use when the space is unoccupied. According to Dr. Nardell, the safety of UVC light is really long established.

Since these upper-air UV fixtures are either mounted on walls or ceilings they are immobile, which puts their efficiency for bigger spaces under the scanner. As Jelena Srebric, a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland specifies, “The mall owners are calling with the exact same question.” Consequently, ceiling fans are being used to circulate the air and push it upward so that floating bacteria and viruses are annihilated faster. It is reported that ceiling fans improved the efficiency by about a third.

Dr. Srebric and Dr. Nardell are now applying the models to bigger spaces like airports and retail stores and are sure that it will definitely improve the safety factor.

To read the source article please click on the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/science/ultraviolet-light-coronavirus.html