08.21.23
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated its warning for consumers about the potential risk of injury associated with the use of certain brands of ultraviolet (UV) wands that are purported to disinfectant surfaces. The agency follows its initial warning released in July 2022. FDA says consumers should not use these UV wands for disinfection because they may expose the user or any nearby person to unsafe levels of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation and may cause injury to the skin, eyes, or both after a few seconds of use.
In its updated notice, the FDA said it is is aware that “some manufacturers are marketing unsafe UV wands to consumers to disinfect surfaces and kill germs in the home or similar spaces outside most health care settings. The FDA recommends that consumers do not use these products and consider using safer alternative methods.”
UV wands are handheld products intended to give off UV-C radiation to disinfect surfaces generally outside the healthcare setting. The products tested by FDA were shown to expose the user or any nearby person to unsafe levels of UV-C radiation. The FDA also identified some common features among the products tested, such as lack of safety information, claims to disinfect in seconds, and the lack of any means to protect users.
When a product is advertised to disinfect in seconds, it likely means that it gives off an unsafe level of UV-C radiation, according to the agency.
The FDA has collected and tested samples of UV wands from multiple manufacturers. The FDA has issued Notification of Defect Letters to manufacturers whose products were found to give off unsafe levels of radiation and pose a significant risk of injury to consumers. The FDA said its plans to work with each manufacturer to ensure adequate corrective actions.
The update can be found here.
In its updated notice, the FDA said it is is aware that “some manufacturers are marketing unsafe UV wands to consumers to disinfect surfaces and kill germs in the home or similar spaces outside most health care settings. The FDA recommends that consumers do not use these products and consider using safer alternative methods.”
UV wands are handheld products intended to give off UV-C radiation to disinfect surfaces generally outside the healthcare setting. The products tested by FDA were shown to expose the user or any nearby person to unsafe levels of UV-C radiation. The FDA also identified some common features among the products tested, such as lack of safety information, claims to disinfect in seconds, and the lack of any means to protect users.
When a product is advertised to disinfect in seconds, it likely means that it gives off an unsafe level of UV-C radiation, according to the agency.
FDA Testing
The FDA testing determined that some UV wand products give off at a distance of about two inches, as much as 3,000 times more UV-C radiation than the exposure limit recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation ProtectionExternal Link Disclaimer. The user or any person near the UV wands listed in the table above may experience an injury to the skin (erythema, burn-like skin reaction), eyes (photokeratitis), or both after a few seconds of exposure. The type of eye injury associated with exposure to UV-C causes severe pain and a feeling of having sand in the eyes.The FDA has collected and tested samples of UV wands from multiple manufacturers. The FDA has issued Notification of Defect Letters to manufacturers whose products were found to give off unsafe levels of radiation and pose a significant risk of injury to consumers. The FDA said its plans to work with each manufacturer to ensure adequate corrective actions.
The update can be found here.