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Is UV-C dangerous to people? If so, after how long? It'd be interesting to consider this for doctor's waiting rooms, boarding areas for planes & trains, and wa

• jimsmart 6y ago
  It's fairly well accepted that UV-C is carcinogenic to humans. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/uv-radiation.html https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposu...
• Zancarius 6y ago
  The sibling comment posted to a general overview of UV light, but I think it's a shame that it seems so dismissive. UVC, while higher frequency, can't penetrate the outer layer of skin[1]. At low energies, I'd imagine it'd be dangerous enough to virions and safe enough to humans for it to be a useful area disinfectant. Most of the studies I've seen use very low power sources that appear to be fairly safe, but I'd imagine there's long term exposure risk. Here's another article[2] worth reading. It appears to me that the specific wavelengths most of the research has focused on is far-UVC which is probably different from the frequencies of UVC currently more well studied. So, I think the answer is "it depends." [1] https://www.klaran.com/is-uvc-safe https://www.klaran.com/is-uvc-safe [2] https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/are-ultraviolet-sanitizing-lights-safe-for-humans https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/are-ultraviolet-sani...