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The MTA Is Testing Out UV Lights To Zap Coronavirus
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Stephen Nessen
Published May 20, 2020
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Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit
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By
Stephen Nessen
Published May 20, 2020
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The MTA promised “aggressive” methods to kill the coronavirus on subway trains during the new nightly system shutdowns, and on Tuesday night they began a new cleaning experiment using blasts of dystopian ultraviolet light.
The MTA purchased 150 UVC lights from a Denver based company PURO Lighting for $1 million and they’re now testing them in stations, trains, buses and common work areas as part of a pilot.
While the MTA said the lights are safe for humans, and are already widely used in hospitals and emergency rooms, the agency says it still requires a “significant amount of safety precautions” as well. The lights are only set up once the trains and buses enter the yards, so as not to expose the riding public to the lights.
“We believe this is a big deal for the MTA, for our customers, our employees and the future of our system,” MTA Chairman Pat Foye said Tuesday.
The length of time UV lights have to be turned on to effectively kill viruses depends on the size of the space and the number of lights. Scientists will study the results, which will be published in a peer-reviewed study.
Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit
The MTA is working with Columbia University Director of the Center for Radiological Research David Brenner on this project, which has shown “very encouraging” results in laboratory tests, but have yet to be proven in a peer reviewed study.
Mark Dowd, the MTA’s Chief Innovation Officer says “preliminary results show it kills efficiently.”
PURO Lighting will instruct MTA personnel on how to use the lights and then “MTA-related teams” after that will use the lights, according to an MTA spokesperson.
It’s not clear how many trains, buses and stations will receive the UV light treatment, but stations and yards in Corona, Queens, Coney Island, Jamaica and Pelham in the Bronx will get the lights.
The MTA hopes to roll it out on the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North next. But it doesn’t know what the cost would be to scale it up across the entire system.
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Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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