Some SC schools to use ultraviolet light to fight coronavirus. A few things to know.
.jpg "Even if schools are carefully sanitized, experts say, the coronavirus will spread once the students are in close contact in places like the school bus.")
The Chester County School District announced in October that they would use ultraviolet lights to help fight the spread of COVID-19. Lewisville Elementary, in Richburg, will be the first in the district to use this technology -- and one of the first in the nation, said district Public Information Officer Chris Christoff.
“We’re extremely honored to be among the first to utilize this technology,” said Chester County School District Superintendent Antwon Sutton at the time. “We’ve chosen Lewisville Elementary based on the fact that elementary schools have been identified as more high risk when it comes to exposure.”
The technology is already being installed, and the district anticipates completion this month, Christoff said.
Is UV technology safe? Will it be effective? Here’s what The Herald found out.
- The lights being used in Chester are called Germicidal Ultraviolet lights, also known as GUV. They will use 254 UV-C light -- 254 being the wavelength. There will be some overhead GUV lights installed throughout the schools, Christoff said. The units, provided by NetZero USA, also will include hand-held units, which will be used to disinfect classrooms and surfaces
- GUV of this type is not new technology. Articles on GUV date back to 1947 -- when it was used in a school outside of Philadelphia.
- The effectiveness of GUV has been proven. A study done in South Africa, which was published in the U.S. Library of Medicine, states: “Upper room germicidal UV air disinfection with air mixing was highly effective in reducing tuberculosis transmission under hospital conditions.” Edward Nardell, a doctor and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, contributed to the study. He said it proved “80% efficacy,” in stopping the spread of tuberculosis.
- GUV does work on COVID-19, the virus caused by the novel coronavirus. It disinfects by destroying the virus in the air. “UV works on every single kind of pathogen there is. It works on COVID,” Nardell said.
- The reason this technology seems new to us is that it has not been necessary for awhile. Since studies in the 1940s, which focused on stopping the spread of measles, the U.S. hasn’t needed this technology, Nardell said. Schools that are implementing this technology during the coronavirus pandemic are among the first to use UV light in decades.
- GUV is safe as long as it is installed properly. Ceiling fans and proper ventilation are important, Nardell said. He recommends that any school installing this program has an outside professional -- someone who has no stake in the game -- come and check that the system is installed correctly before they turn it on.
- If the above guidelines are followed, students will not experience side effects. “There’s not much we don’t know,” Nardell said. “It doesn’t cause skin cancer, it doesn’t cause cataracts, it can’t even give you a good sunburn.” It can cause irritation of the skin and eyes; the eyes are the most sensitive. If students are complaining of eye irritation, Nardell said, the system has not been properly installed.
- Other schools are currently using this technology. Cambridge Friend’s School in Cambridge, Mass., installed Upper Room GUV lights (GUV light installed in the ceiling) earlier this year.
- It won’t necessarily control the spread of coronavirus, unless exposure is strictly unlimited. In past studies, like the one in Philadelphia, the technology wasn’t effective in stopping the spread of disease because children rode the bus after school. Without the GUV technology, the disease (measles in their case) was quickly spread in other environments. Unless children are being strictly isolated outside of school, they will still be susceptible to the virus, Nardell said. The study in South Africa showed more effectiveness because it took place in hospital conditions where patients were strictly isolated.
- It should be most helpful to teachers, who don’t mingle with students outside of school. “You may not protect every kid from this, if they’re touching and in close contact, but you could certainly protect your teachers,” Nardell said.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Some SC schools to use ultraviolet light to fight coronavirus. A few things to know.."
