Far-UV is possibly the best tool we have against COVID and very few people actually know what it is.
Here is a Twitter thread from Joey Fox providing an explainer. Some key points:
- Far UV is a range of UV light that is extremely effective at killing airborne microbes.
- The equivalent clean air delivery rate from far-UV vastly exceeds anything possible with ventilation or filtration.
- Far-UV is really bad at penetrating anything, such as skin or eyes. So your body can handle a high dose—something that isn’t true of other UV wavelengths.
Nature journal also has this article: Disinfecting the air with far-ultraviolet light.
It highlights a Boston piano bar that has far-UV lights installed. It makes similar points as above:
- Ventilation isn’t always enough.
- HEPA helps but might not be enough, either.
- With GUV lights you get high rates of air disinfection with relatively little air movement.
- UV light in a wavelength below 254 nm don’t penetrate tissues very well, and are therefore safer to use around people.
- Though lab data is promising, more real-world data is needed. One trial is under way in a Nova Scotia nursing home, with results expected in 2023.
- Far-UV lights are already on the market. Experts warn against home use for the time being.
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