The science around Far-UVC with scientific facts about its safety

Far-UVC the science behind the light

Since June 2020, UEC energy has been working with the only two scientific developers of Far-UVC technology, one in Japan and one in the US.

Unlike UV light which is dangerous and harmful to our eyes and skin, Far-UVC sits within the wavelength range of effective short wave UV light which kills viruses and bacteria which is between 200nm and 280nm (nano metres) and has been proven to be both effective in killing surface and airborne pathogens whilst being safe to human eyes and skin.

Following extensive testing it has been found that people can work and operate in regulated and controlled Far-UVC environments for up to eight hours in any twenty-four period without negative impacts.

This discovery is a clear game-changer when dealing with global pandemics. Very low doses of far-UVC light efficiently kill airborne human coronaviruses carried by aerosols. A dose as low as 1.2 to 1.7 mJ/ cm2 of 222-nm light inactivates 99.9% of the airborne human coronavirus tested from both genera beta and alpha, respectively. As all human coronaviruses have similar genomic size, a key determinant of radiation sensitivity, far-UVC light will show comparable inactivation efficiency against other human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, a fact borne out in recent studies published in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) which show that FAR UV can kill 99.7% of coronavirus on surfaces within less than 30 seconds. The same UV exposure regulated to current human exposure limits will clean the air within minutes.

Introduction

222-nm FAR-UV light has been widely tested and it is now acknowledged that there exists a narrow wavelength window in the far-UVC region, from around 200–222 nm, which is significantly harmful to bacteria, but without damaging cells in human tissues.

Excimer Wave Far-UV lighting products at 222nm have been demonstrated to be capable of sanitising spaces SAFETY even with humans present.  This paper presents actual test data on the efficacy of Excimer Wave FAR-UV against bacteria and viruses (including human coronavirus) and thus provides evidence on the efficacy of the Aerocare FAR-UV products in use.  

Quality & Standards

Excimer wave 222nm FAR UV inactivate a range of human viruses including human coronavirus (229E, NL63, OC43 and HKU1) and Ebola.  We are intending to test and confirm the biocidal effect to the following British Standards (BS) and European Standards (EN), but are prepared to meet any preferred customer standards on request:

• BS EN 14682:2019
• BS EN 13795-1:2019
• BS EN 14126:2003 (solid surfaces & textile tested for virucidal activity)

Safety:

Excimer Wave FAR UV lamps within Aerocare products are safe for human interaction and are designed to be operated in accordance with the following regulatory standards for exposures:

• Electrical Equipment Safety Regs 2016 (EESR 2016)
• DIRECTIVE 2006/25/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
• UK Workplace Exposure Limits (WEL) for Ozone
• US Ozone Limits as set by OSHA and the FDA

Viral and Bacterial Efficacy:

The following results for STERILRAY ™ 222nm efficacy were confirmed independently by ATS Laboratories and PPC LLC (Pathogen Path Consulting LLC) of the USA: