Indoor air quality improvements are taking place at the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, MA.
Germicidal ultraviolet light kills germs
Germicidal ultraviolet light is a type of light that safely kills germs and tiny mold particles in the air that can make you sick. GUV uses ultraviolet light C to reduce your chances of getting sick from the flu, COVID-19, colds, and more.
GUV light fixtures have been used safely since the 1930s. GUV was widely used in the 1950s to prevent the spread of measles, mumps, and polio before vaccines were available.
GUV is used in Boston’s Pine Street Inn, Columbia University Dental School, the US Army Headquarters, school buses in South Carolina, and the Washington D.C. area international airports to clean indoor air, among many other places. GUV has also been safely used in the University of Maryland School of Public Health for 10+ years.
Benefits of GUV lights
- Clean the air: Professionals can install GUV lights in public indoor spaces to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses, like tuberculosis, flu, measles, and COVID-19. GUV lights make the air cleaner and safer without using chemicals. When the air is cleaner, you are less likely to get sick.
- Limit the spread of respiratory illnesses at home: If someone at work is sick, you’re less likely to catch it in a room with GUV lights. This keeps your family or housemates safer and healthier.
- Prepare for this pandemic and the future: GUV lights can protect you from new viruses or variants, or during future pandemics before treatments and vaccines are available.
- Reduce absenteeism: GUV lights lower the spread of germs, helping you and your coworkers stay healthy and keep working safely.
- Lower energy consumption: New recommendations will require cleaner air in buildings and studies show using GUV in combination with ventilation is more energy efficient compared to upgrading traditional ventilation systems.
Purpose of GUV installation
GUV air cleaning technologies can kill germs while reducing energy use and carbon emissions. The goal of this project is to validate the performance of these technologies compared to traditional means of air cleaning (e.g., increasing outdoor air ventilation).
Types of GUV
- Whole-room GUV: Cleans the air around you from ceiling to floor. Far-UVC can be safely pointed down without irritating your skin or eyes.
- Upper-room GUV: Cleans the air across the top of the room, and germ-free air moves down from the ceiling. UR-GUV won’t irritate your eyes in the lower part of the room with people in it, but it can irritate your eyes if you climb up and look directly into the fixture.
- GUV air cleaner: Cleans the air by drawing it into an enclosed chamber, killing germs with the light, and releasing it back into the room.
Professionally installed GUV is safe
The ultraviolet light in GUV lights is different from sunlight, which has harmful UV rays. UVA and UVB in sunlight go deep into the skin to cause tanning and may also cause skin cancer. Professionally installed GUV lights use UVC and are safe to use in a room with people. Safe installation varies depending on the type of GUV light:
- The UV in Far-UVC light bulbs does not go deep into the skin or eyes, which is why it can be safely pointed down at people. Up-close exposure to Far-UVC lights can cause temporary side effects, such as redness on the skin and dry irritation of the eyes. Safety training and professional installation can prevent this by making sure they are at a safe distance from people in the room.
- The UV in UR-GUV light bulbs goes a bit deeper into the skin than Far-UVC, but not as deep as UVA and UVB. To be safe, UR-GUV is installed near the ceiling and not pointing down at people.
Maintenance staff must ALWAYS turn the UV lights off before working near them.
You will find that older reports lump UVC in with all UVA and UVB from sunlight and will say that UVC “may” cause cancer. However, research to date does not show any risk of cancer because the UVC light does not go deeper than the outer layer of skin. UVA and UVB both cause cell damage to the inner layers of the skin because they penetrate into the skin.
Location of lights in the Volpe Center
GUV lights are installed in the following locations on Floor 2 at Volpe. You should continue to use these rooms as you normally would. They provide safer environments for you to gather and meet with other people.
Upper Room Installation: Rooms 203, 205 and 208
Whole Room Installation: Rooms 210, 216, 218 and Men’s Restroom (2R2)
Air Cleaner Installation: 219 and Toilet (2R3)
Contact information
Please contact GUV@pnnl.gov should you have any questions and a member of the project team will get back to you shortly.
U.S. General Services Administration