NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The MTA will start using UV light to kill COVID-19 on trains and buses, officials announced Tuesday.
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Scientists at Columbia University’s Center for Radiological Research found UV light is “proven to kill COVID-19,” MTA Chairman Pat Foye said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
The MTA recently shelled out $1 million for more than 230 UV lamps it will use to disinfect its infrastructure as part of a weeks-long pilot program, Foye and MTA Chief Innovation Officer Mark Dowd said.
“I don’t want to mislead anybody into thinking this is a cure-all — there is still much work to be done — but this is a significant and promising new development,” Foye said.
UV technology has worked “effectively” in emergency rooms, operating rooms and at urgent care centers and universities, he added.
The first phase of the pilot program will focus on subways and buses, Dowd said. The second phase, which is expected to launch in around three and a half weeks, will focus on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North.
While the Center of Radiological Research’s studies haven’t yet been peer reviewed, the center’s director, Dr. David Brenner, said their results were “very encouraging.”
“It’s certainly looking, absolutely, that the UV light is very efficient at killing this virus,” he said during the news conference.
The MTA started shutting down the subway system between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. each night for cleaning and disinfecting earlier this month.
The overnight closures are going “extraordinarily well,” Foye said Tuesday.
“We’re already implementing the most aggressive cleaning and disinfecting program in MTA history,” he said. “As we’ve been saying, we’re leaving no stone unturned when it comes to promoting and protecting public health.