Right: The faint blue glow of ultraviolet fixtures mounted above the restaurant's ceiling panels create a "killing zone" that can wipe out viral aerosols that build up in the air. Left: The inside of Marlaina's Mediterranean Kitchen, a Seattle-area eatery. This setup is known as "upper-room germicidal UV" because the UV fixtures are mounted high up near the ceiling and angled away from humans below. Recently, the question of airborne transmission gained new urgency when a group of 239 scientists called on the World Health Organization to take the threat of infectious aerosols more seriously, arguing the "lack of clear recommendations on the control measures against the airborne virus will have significant consequences." In response, WHO acknowledged the possibility that airborne transmission "cannot be ruled out" in some public settings that are "crowded, closed, poorly ventilated." WHO officials conceded that more research is needed but maintained that most infections do not happen this way.Īs the science continues to evolve, UV could emerge as an attractive safeguard against airborne transmission - one with a track record against previous pathogens - that can be deployed to cut down the risk of infectious aerosols accumulating in indoor settings such as schools, public buildings and businesses.Īt Marlaina's restaurant, diners will only encounter two visible clues of the UV disinfection system installed while the restaurant was closed during Washington state's lockdown: a subtle glow of blue light above the black grates of the drop ceiling, and a posted sign at the door, proudly announcing to diners: "Coronavirus Disinfected Here!" Yet there is still considerable debate over how likely someone is to spread the virus in other settings via aerosols. It's already recognized that the coronavirus can spread through aerosols during medical procedures, which is why health care workers are advised to wear respirators, such as N95 masks, that filter out these tiny particles. This process is also called "airborne transmission." Unlike the larger and heavier respiratory droplets that fall quickly to the ground, aerosols can linger in the air for long periods of time and travel through indoor spaces. But so far using this technology to provide continuous air disinfection has remained outside of most mainstream, policy-setting conversations about the coronavirus.Įxperts attribute this to a combination of factors: misconceptions about UV's safety, a lack of public awareness and technical know-how, concerns about the costs of installing the technology, and a general reluctance to consider the role of aerosols in the spread of the coronavirus.Īerosols are microdroplets that are expelled when someone exhales, speaks or coughs. grapples with how to interrupt the spread of the highly infectious virus, UV is being used to decontaminate surfaces on public transit and in hospitals where infectious droplets may have landed as well as to disinfect N95 masks for reuse. ![]() His restaurant, Marlaina's Mediterranean Kitchen, is a casual eatery 20 minutes south of downtown Seattle.Īs the U.S. "I thought it was a great idea, and I want my customers to be safe," Firat says. Now, with concern mounting that the coronavirus may be easily transmitted through microscopic floating particles known as aerosols, some researchers and physicians hope the technology can be recruited yet again to help disinfect high-risk indoor settings. Research already shows that germicidal UV can effectively inactivate airborne microbes that transmit measles, tuberculosis and SARS-CoV-1, a close relative of the novel coronavirus. ![]() ![]() High up near the ceiling, in the dining room of his Seattle-area restaurant, Musa Firat recently installed a "killing zone" - a place where swaths of invisible electromagnetic energy penetrate the air, ready to disarm the coronavirus and other dangerous pathogens that drift upward in tiny, airborne particles.įirat's new system draws on a century-old technology of fending off infectious diseases: energetic waves of ultraviolet light, known as germicidal UV or GUV, are delivered in the right dose to wipe out viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms. ![]() A quartz UV germicidal lamp is used to disinfect a train at the Sviblovo station of the Moscow Metro transit system.
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