Coronavirus: UV aircraft cleaner witnesses surge in demand amid pandemic

While US President Donald Trump drew flak for his suggestion to insert ultraviolet light into the body of coronavirus patients to kill the virus, a Californian company is reportedly ramping up the production of UV-C-emitting cleaning machine for aircraft. Dimer UCV Innovations came up with the machine for the airline industry in 2014 but the pandemic has pushed the demand for such technology to decontaminate aeroplanes.

Dimer UCV Innovations president has reportedly said that the company didn’t want a pandemic to create the demand nonetheless it has created an unprecedented situation. Elliot Kreitenberg added that the company is building more units as quickly as possible to meet the demand of GermFalcon, the UV-C-emitting cleaning machine.

The cleaning machine is a food cart-sized tool that navigates through the aisle of aircraft and emits UV-C radiation on the cabin surfaces through its mechanical wings. The operator stands behind that machine separate by protective barrier shields since the light can prove harmful for living beings. A single unit can clean a narrow-body plane within three minutes.

Read: Trump Now Suggests Injecting Disinfectants, Bringing UV Light 'inside The Body' To Kill Coronavirus

Effect of UV radiations

UV radiations are classified into three types according to their wavelength and each one of them differs from the other two in terms of its biological activity and the extent to which they can penetrate the skin. UV-C, used in the cleaning machine, is the most damaging type of UV radiation but it does not penetrate the atmosphere to reach the earth’s surface.

Read: 'UV Light? Injecting Disinfectant?': US Polls Rival Biden Speaks About Trump's Covid Cure

UV-B is medium-wavelength radiation which is biologically active and unable to penetrate beyond superficial skin layers. While it is responsible for delayed tanning and burning, it enhances skin aging as it promotes the development of skin cancer. However, most of the solar UV-B gets filtered by the atmosphere.

UV-A is relatively long-wavelength radiation and constitutes the majority of UV radiation reaching the Earth’s surface. It is considered as least harmful of all the UV radiation but according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), recent results suggest that it may also enhance the development of skin cancers.

Read: Covid: UK To Send 14 More Charter Flights To Take Back 3600 Britishers Stranded In India

Read: COVID-19: Globetrotter Just 9 Countries Short On 'no Flight World Tour' Stuck In Hong Kong

(With agency inputs / Representational Image: AP)