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RFI on far-UVC evaluation
webCredibility Rating
4/5
High(4)High quality. Established institution or organization with editorial oversight and accountability.
Rating inherited from publication venue: Coefficient Giving
This RFI is tangential to AI safety but relevant to Open Philanthropy's broader biosecurity work; it illustrates how the funder scopes and solicits input before making grants in emerging scientific domains like pandemic prevention technology.
Metadata
Importance: 28/100organizational reportreference
Summary
Open Philanthropy's 2023 RFI soliciting expert input on far-UVC light technology (200–240 nm) as a promising disinfection approach for reducing airborne pathogen transmission in occupied spaces. The RFI sought insights on safety, efficacy, technological development, environmental impacts, and adoption strategies to inform potential grant-making in biosecurity and pandemic preparedness.
Key Points
- •Far-UVC (200–240 nm) is being explored as a disinfection technology usable in occupied spaces with minimal identified adverse health effects, unlike conventional UV-C.
- •Open Philanthropy framed this as part of its biosecurity and pandemic preparedness portfolio, motivated by COVID-19 and future pandemic risk reduction.
- •Traditional germicidal UV and chemical disinfectants are limited by toxicity, inability to use in occupied spaces, and potential for microbial resistance.
- •The RFI targeted high-risk transmission environments including hospitals, airports, offices, and schools where airborne pathogen spread is significant.
- •The RFI was open June–August 2023 and sought information on innovative, ambitious, and scalable approaches including potential alternative technologies.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Bioweapons Risk | Risk | 91.0 |
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June 9, 2023
# (Request for Information) Evaluation of Germicidal Far-UVC: Safety, Efficacy, Technology, and Adoption
****_Editor’s note:_****_This article was published under our former name, Open Philanthropy. Some content may be outdated. You can see our latest writing [here](https://coefficientgiving.org/research-and-news)_ _._
**As of August 1st, 2023, this RFI is closed.**
Open Philanthropy is interested in exploring and potentially supporting novel opportunities to reduce pathogen transmission in the built environment, as part of our work on [biosecurity and pandemic preparedness](https://coefficientgiving.org/focus/biosecurity-pandemic-preparedness/). Recently highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for safe and effective disinfection solutions is vital to prevent pandemics and improve global health. Far-Ultraviolet-C light (Far-UVC), emitted between 200–240 nm, is a promising disinfection technology with minimal currently-identified adverse health outcomes.
Open Philanthropy seeks to understand recent insights and advances pertaining to the safety, efficacy, technological development, environmental impacts and considerations, and adoption strategy of Far-UVC. For this request for information (RFI), Open Philanthropy seeks to understand long-term potential for the use of Far-UVC to reduce pathogen transmission in the built environment and aid in preventing future pandemics. Open Philanthropy requests information about innovative approaches, ambitious operational paradigms, and technological advances for Far-UVC (or, with compelling arguments, alternate technologies).
## Background
Open Philanthropy identifies and supports high-risk, high-reward activities including reducing the threat of major global disruptions from pandemics. Traditional disinfection methods often require caustic/toxic chemicals or harmful UV radiation, limiting their usage in occupied spaces. Furthermore, differences in microbe susceptibility to chemical disinfectants and germicidal UV impact efficacy, and in some cases can lead to an evolved resistance. High-infection-potential locations (e.g., hospitals and retirement homes) and highly trafficked areas (e.g., airports, office buildings, and shopping malls) pose significant risk for transmission, especially for aerosolized pathogens.
The COVID-19 pandemic and other risks from biological threats have propelled research to find disinfection alternatives; of particular interest are approaches that are no-touch or automated, can ideally be used in occupied spaces, have universal or near-universal efficacy against pathogens, and have the potential to substantially reduce or eliminate the transmission of airborne pathogens. One such candidate is Far-UVC disinfection.
Unlike UV-A and UV-B, UV-C light (100–280 nm) from the sun is filtered by the
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