Acuva Responds to Health Canada’s UV Disinfection Advisory

BURNABY, BC, Dec. 17, 2020 /CNW/ – Acuva Technologies Inc., a British Columbia based manufacturer of ultraviolet (UV) LED disinfection products, responds to Health Canada advisory RA-74365 dated November 18, 2020 regarding the marketing and use of UV light wands to disinfect the SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19.

Acuva fully supports Health Canada’s efforts to bring awareness to Canadian consumers about the safety of UV devices and commends Health Canada for its extraordinary efforts to keep Canadians safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health Canada raises legitimate questions regarding the accuracy of COVID-19 disinfection claims made by some UV wand manufacturers. Acuva has tested several of these devices in recent months and agrees that there may be other manufacturers that are promoting UV disinfecting wands with claims that are not supported by scientific evidence. We stand behind Health Canada’s efforts to protect Canadian consumers from the potential harm of unfounded COVID-19 related safety claims.

There is, in fact, significant peer-reviewed scientific evidence establishing the efficacy and safety of UV light for COVID-19 decontamination. This evidence includes scientific research and testing conducted by and on behalf of Acuva in developing its SOLARIX UV-LED Portable Disinfection Device. This testing was performed by a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory certified by the United States government and confirmed that the Acuva SOLARIX achieved >99.9% disinfection of SARS-CoV-2 in just 10 seconds of exposure. This independent third-party testing proves the efficacy of Acuva’s SOLARIX wand in disinfecting of non-porous surfaces against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

We have recently provided this research and test results to Health Canada for their consideration, together with a list of published articles from peer reviewed journals noting the effectiveness of UV against SARS-CoV-2. These documents can be found at: http://bit.ly/UVvsCOVID-19

At Acuva, our first priority is the safety and effectiveness of our products. We believe that UV-LED wands can be a safe, fast and cost-effective way for Canadian consumers to disinfect household items and surfaces. “Our team designed the SOLARIX wand based on proven UV disinfection technology, utilizing computational modelling, experimental studies and intensive performance evaluation at a leading certified laboratory” said Dr. Fariborz Taghipour, CTO of Acuva and Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia.

While there are potential risks posed by the consumer use of UV-LED wands, Acuva believes these risks can be addressed through its design and user education. The SOLARIX has built-in sensors to reduce the risk of accidental UV exposure. And with each SOLARIX unit, Acuva provides clear warnings and instructions on how to use the device properly and safely.

About Acuva Technologies

Acuva is a Burnaby-based clean technology company focused on the design and development of advanced water, air and surface disinfection systems using leading-edge, proprietary UltraViolet Light Emitting Diode (UV-LED) technologies developed in conjunction with the University of British Columbia.

For more information on Acuva, visit www.acuvatech.com.

Media assets, including photos and video of the Acuva SOLARIX and the Validation Report are available here: https://bit.ly/AcuvaSolarixValidation