Far-UVC for Air & Surfaces
Does It Work?
The science says “YES!” loud and clear. Far-UVC isn’t some fringe idea or future concept—it’s here, it’s proven, and it’s turning heads across the medical and scientific world.
Study after study shows it’s not only highly effective against airborne and surface pathogens, but also safe for use around people. From doctors and physicists, aerobiologists and clinical researchers, biosecurity experts and science journalists, the consensus is building: this is a game-changing layer of protection. Scroll down to read, listen and watch what the experts are saying about Far-UVC and how it can transform the safety of our indoor spaces.
If you’re still asking “Does it work?”—you’re about to find out.
Blueprint for Far-UVC
June 17, 2025
“Far-UVC is a new form of GUV. Because it is strongly absorbed by proteins in the outer layer of human skin and eyes, it can inactivate a wide range of pathogens with minimal penetration into and effects on human tissues. This enables higher human exposure limits, unlocking the potential for disinfecting occupied spaces continuously while achieving significantly improved air cleaning over current alternatives. Far-UVC is also silent, energy-efficient, commercially viable at scale, less vulnerable to engendering resistance than pharmaceuticals, and can be deployed in advance of an outbreak to help prevent a pandemic from occurring in the first place.”
Do far ultraviolet-C light technologies increase ozone concentrations in healthcare facility patient rooms?
June 16, 2025
“…there was no significant increase in ozone with operation of far UV-C devices in a patient room with 8 air changes per hour. These findings suggest that operation of far UV-C technologies in well-ventilated healthcare settings is unlikely to substantially increase ozone concentrations over baseline levels.”
PODCAST: Killing viruses with light, with Jacob Swett
May 15, 2025
On this episode, Patrick McKenzie is joined by Jacob Swett, the executive director of Blueprint Biosecurity, a non-profit focused on achieving breakthroughs in humanity’s ability to suppress pathogens. The two discuss far UVC as a method for controlling the spread of infectious disease – and why it hasn’t happened yet, why it probably will happen in your lifetime, and what humanity can do to accelerate far UVC adoption.
Jacob explains, “One of the technologies that we’re really excited about is a capability called far UVC. Collectively, we think there is a ton of promise with these technologies. If you were to combine them together and put them into the world around us—the built environment where we spend around 90% of our time—we could get to a world where those colds and flus and other things that drag us down, make our lives get cut short in some instances, and can lead to things like COVID-19, are potentially a thing of the past. That’s what really excites us about some of these different technologies.”
Denial of Airborne Infection: A Review
May 15, 2025
“Considering the amount of death and morbidity that airborne pathogens like influenza, smallpox, polio, and SARS-CoV-2 have inflicted over the last century alone, it is galling to see the Wells’ innovative work on long-distance infection, community spread, and air filtration find a new generation of critics as intractable as Chapin and Sedgwick. Scant evidence was needed for their criticisms to stick—for large-scale experiments to be abandoned and for the thesis of airborne infection to be rejected wholesale, as if it were somehow hostile to science rather than revealing of its unseen, underrecognized principles.”
OPINION: We need a new civil defense, tailored to the unprecedented threats we face today.
May 8, 2025
“… recent research suggests that specific wavelengths known as germicidal ultraviolet light or “far-UVC” can deactivate a wide range of pathogens without harming human skin or eyes. Renewed civil defense could include investments in this kind of technology, which could pay big dividends even if no pandemic breaks out again; in line with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s focus on preventive health care, novel far-UVC technology could be part of a wider “clean indoor air” initiative that could help protect children from seasonal illnesses and epidemics.”
Carl Zimmer: The Hidden History of Airborne Diseases
April 28, 2025
“I’m Simon Jones and coming up is a conversation with Carl Zimmer, columnist for the New York Times, science writer and author of a new book on the hidden history of the air we breathe called Airborne.
There is a fascinating story to be told here in how we bring science to life with stories and good communication.
The process of telling the history of science and the balance of building in the characters without diluting the facts is crucial.
Carl Zimmer is a prolific science writer, an author of numerous acclaimed books that explore biology, evolution, heredity, neuroscience and the living world.”
Scientists hope far-UVC light could help stop the next airborne pandemic before it starts
April 8, 2025
Five years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic first swept across the U.S., infecting millions and claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. Scientists are already concerned about the next airborne threat, but in the future, a powerful new weapon may be waiting in the wings.
Far-UVC light is a form of ultraviolet light that can kill viruses and bacteria in the air without harming humans. Researchers say it could be instrumental in stopping the spread of illnesses like the flu and possibly future pandemics.
Revolutionising indoor air quality to stop pandemics with Germicidal Ultraviolet (GUV) technology
April 1, 2025
Indoor air quality is a silent public health crisis, harbouring pathogens that contribute to billions of illnesses annually. Addressing this requires urgent attention, and Germicidal Ultraviolet (GUV) technology offers a powerful solution to combat airborne threats
Far-UVC Is a Public Health Tool We Need Now
March 12, 2025
“While several proven methods to tackle HAIs exist—such as improving ventilation and cleaning indoor air—current hospital ventilation systems alone cannot capture and destroy all airborne pathogens. Therefore, we need a layered approach that leverages multiple tools to safeguard public health. Far-UVC is a promising tool that we need to add to this layered strategy.
Far-UVC is a specific type of ultraviolet light at the 222-nanometer wavelength that represents an important advancement in the field of pathogen control. Conventional UVC light has long been used to inactivate airborne viruses and bacteria, but it poses risks to human skin and eyes, limiting its use in occupied spaces. Far-UVC, however, is different. Research shows that it can destroy airborne pathogens like those causing HAIs while remaining safe for direct human exposure, opening an unprecedented opportunity for infection control in settings where people congregate.”
Dr P Jacob Bueno de Mesquita | Germicidal Ultraviolet (GUV): A Powerful Tool for Improving Indoor Air Quality and Reducing Disease Transmission
December 20, 2024
GUV technology offers a powerful tool for improving indoor air quality and reducing disease transmission. This exciting research is helping to build the scientific foundation for the widespread adoption of this technology. By harnessing the power of ultraviolet light, we may be able to create indoor environments that are significantly safer and healthier. This could have far-reaching implications for public health, reducing the burden of respiratory infections, improving the quality of life of millions of people, and enabling physical human interaction when epidemics and emerging pandemics threaten the closure of public spaces.
Could UV light protect against hospital infections?
April 26, 2024
“Daily cleaning of patient rooms is likely to be inadequate to reduce the burden of infectious pathogens, and manual cleaning of intricate surfaces, equipment and devices makes thorough cleaning difficult. These limitations have led to the development of technologies that can provide continuous decontamination of occupied spaces between episodes of manual cleaning. The Holy Grail is a technology that is effective against surface and airborne pathogens and is automated, safe and reasonably priced.”
One of the most promising candidates is ultraviolet light technology. “It’s been known since the 1940s that ultraviolet light can kill bacteria and inactivate viruses in the air so that they are no longer infectious,” Donskey said.
Far-UVC Light Can Virtually Eliminate Airborne Virus in an Occupied Room
April 2, 2024
Far-UVC light is a promising new technology for reducing airborne virus levels in occupied indoor spaces, but its effectiveness has not been evaluated in real-life scenarios.
A study by Columbia researchers now shows that far-UVC light inactivated nearly all (>99%) of an airborne virus in an occupied work environment, showing that the technology can work as well in a real-life scenario as in the laboratory.
Mould study highlights safer far-UVC light cleaning alternative
March 18, 2024
“The main benefit of far-UVC light is that it can inactivate microorganisms while remaining safe for humans, according to the authors. Conventional UVC light is “well-known for its antimicrobial properties” and as such is “typically administered in one large dose while no people are present or used for upper-room decontamination”, the authors explained. Yet the study showed that using low-intensity far-UVC light “significantly inhibited both vertical and horizontal growth of P. candidum”, the paper showed. As such, it suggested that the method is beneficial for reducing or preventing mould growth in the air, even in the presence of people. The authors highlighted that because “indoor mould growth increases the risk of high concentrations of airborne spores, preventing growth on indoor surfaces is crucial to securing indoor air quality.”
222 Day: A Far UV-C Interview with Dr. David Brenner
Feb 22, 2024
We are thrilled to celebrate #222Day by discussing Far UV-C technology with Dr. David Brenner, the Director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University. He discusses the work that he and other scientists have done over the last several years around the effects of Far UV-C light for the potential benefit of public health. Watch the video and visit care222.com to see how we’re using Far UV-C technology to make public spaces healthier and safer.
Filtered Far-UVC Inactivates Airborne Pathogens: Journal Summary
Feb 21, 2024
For years, filtered Far-UVC light has been proven to effectively inactivate bacteria and viruses on surfaces and in water. A recent peer-review study published in the Scientific Reports journal by Nature further investigated this topic and found amazing results. Watch this video for a summary or read the full study here.
Care222 Far UV-C Technology: The 144 Hour Mold Spread Suppression Test
Jan 25, 2023
Care222 Far UV-C technology stops the spread of mold & inactivates other pathogens and bacteria. Watch it in action in our 6-day test.
Far-UVC Light at 222 nm is Showing Significant Potential to Safely and Efficiently Inactivate Airborne Pathogens in Occupied Indoor Locations
November 4, 2022
Based on these considerations, far-UVC has been suggested and is now starting to be deployed, for direct overhead exposure in occupied indoor locations with the goal of reducing airborne pathogen concentrations in the vicinity of the room occupants. There are essentially only two questions: Does it work? Is it safe? Over the past few years a significant body of evidence has emerged suggesting that the answer to both these questions is “yes”, as we briefly discuss…”
Ocular and Facial Far‐UVC Doses from Ceiling‐Mounted 222 nm Far‐UVC Fixtures
July 31, 2022
“The results of this work showed an average dose to the eye of only 5.8% of the maximum direct dose, which suggests that the eye dose should not approach the TLV as long as the direct measurements remain within the TLV, using the respective TLVs. Since the ICNIRP EL does not make a distinction between eye and skin limits, the dose to the eyes when exposed with a direct exposure within the 8‐h EL would likewise only be a fraction of the allowable dose.”
No Evidence of Induced Skin Cancer or Other Skin Abnormalities after Long-Term (66 week) Chronic Exposure to 222-nm Far-UVC Radiation
May 25, 2022
“In summary, the findings of this study indicate that chronic exposure of SKH-1 hairless mice to far-UVC 222 nm radiation for 66 weeks (15.2 months) at mean daily 8-h skin doses of up to 400 mJ cm−2 did not result in any evidence for induced skin cancer in SKH-1 hairless mice. In addition, we found no evidence of far-UVC-related increases in non-cancerous skin lesions, unusual weight loss or excess mortality. The SKH-1 hairless mouse is a standard model which has been used to quantify the significant yields of skin cancers and other skin lesions induced by prolonged exposure to UVB radiation and prolonged exposure to conventional germicidal UVC (254 nm) radiation.”
A new weapon in the fight against superbugs
April 2017
Since the widespread use of antibiotics began in the 1940s, we’ve tried to develop new drugs faster than bacteria can evolve — but this strategy isn’t working. Drug-resistant bacteria known as superbugs killed nearly 700,000 people last year, and by 2050 that number could be 10 million — more than cancer kills each year. Can physics help? In a talk from the frontiers of science, radiation scientist David Brenner shares his work studying a potentially life-saving weapon: a wavelength of ultraviolet light known as far-UVC, which can kill superbugs safely, without penetrating our skin. Followed by a Q&A with TED Curator Chris Anderson.
