The harmful radiation we ordinarily avoid could help protect us from Covid.
Experts say the spread of coronavirus variants means people need to step up their mask game. While doubling up is an option, as is upgrading from a cloth mask to an N95, some high-tech products are emerging to take masking even further by incorporating ultraviolet-C light sanitation.
UVC light is a class of radiation with short wavelengths. It's naturally emitted by the sun, but man-made light sources like LEDs can also be made to generate it.
While it's harmful to humans if it reaches our skin and eyes, UVC also has the ability to disrupt the DNA of pathogens and prevent viruses (including coronavirus) from spreading. That makes it a sanitation tool that cities and organizations like hospitals have been using for years to keep public spaces and even water water supplies healthy. It's become even more prominent recently amid the coronavirus pandemic, as cities like New York have turned to UVC to sanitize subway cars.
There's also been a boom in consumer products using UVC. Desk lamps, cellphones, wands, and earbuds — all with the promise of protecting the user from coronavirus — have proliferated in the last year. While recent studies show that UVC light can render the coronavirus inert, the FDA warns that the quality can vary widely, and that there's still not enough information known about how much UVC light needs to be shone and for how long in order to be effective against the virus.
One such mask is the UVMask, made by a Canadian company called UM Systems, which develops light and laser products for healthcare. The UVMask is an all-in-one mask that contains an external shell, an N95-grade air filter, and then a third layer it calls the “sterile vortex.” This is a spiral-shaped air pathway embedded with LEDs that shoot UVC light at the air as it makes its way through before you breathe it in. It’s battery-powered, with eight hours of battery life per charge, contains a fan system to keep the LEDs cool, a silicone face covering for comfort, and straps to keep nearly 4 ounces of face hardware comfortable (or so the company says).
