'Urban Sun': Dutch artists launches UV light installation to 'clean' public spaces of COVID-19

NETHERLANDS -- A Dutch artist has launched an installation which he says aims to make public spaces safer by using UV light to kill the virus causing COVID-19.

Video shows artist Daan Roosegaarde's installation, dubbed "Urban Sun," on display in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The studio said the project was based on "multiple peer-reviewed journal articles authored by scientists from Columbia University and Hiroshima University" which found coronavirus airborne droplets were killed when exposed to a particular wavelength of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) light.

"Research shows that though traditional 254nm UV light is harmful, the new far-UV-C light with a wavelength of 222 nanometers can actually sanitize viruses safely," the studio said.

Roosegaarde hopes to install the lights at festivals in the summer as COVID-19 restrictions ease but said it was not a replacement for a vaccine or government rules, Reuters reported. The actors involved in the project, who are seen in this footage, were tested for the coronavirus before filming and were only exposed to the light for a few minutes at a time, the agency reported.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said UV-C radiation may be effective in inactivating SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, but there is "limited published data about the wavelength, dose, and duration of UV-C radiation required" to do so.

The administration also warned that there have been "reports of skin and eye burns resulting from improper installation of UV-C lamps."