School and Regional Government Installations of Krypton Far UV Accelerate Across the Country
December 2021
The Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Government in South Carolina completed an installation of Krypton GO Far UV-C lights with USUV Cleans on 331 school buses across its 4-county region’s 5 school districts. Far UV-C solutions provide passive ongoing air cleaning, thereby adding an important layer of resilience. They have been shown to inactivate 99.9% or more of SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen that leads to COVID-19, its variants, and the other pathogens associated with the common cold and flu and other illnesses that have plagued our schools.
Far UV-C Lights emit light at the 222-nanometer wavelengths, which does not penetrate the most superficial layer of the skin or the eye, making it suitable for use in occupied settings. The systems provide the buses with ongoing passive sanitation of the air and surfaces all around the occupants.
This project directly protects 33,729 kids & 331 bus drivers. The secondary impact is in the classrooms and the homes of approximately 90,370 additional individuals, many of them elderly who often have health conditions that can lead to a higher risk of infection from COVID-19 or other viruses. Far UV-C light provides peace of mind for our children, their parents, their teachers, school administrators and Boards, bus drivers and everyone who comes into contact with them.
According to Chris McKinney, Chief Executive Officer at Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments, “We understand the schools are a CRITICAL part of our community. The team cares about the school staff and kids. They put their money where their mouth is or to say it the way a good friend says it ‘their audio matches their video’. If we can put this technology on our buses, we can make our schools that much safer. We believe in our kids. Our kids are our future. A win for our kids is a win for our whole community. If we fail to invest in our schools, we choose to go backwards in economic and community development because those kids are our pipeline. I’ve done a lot of projects in my time at Santee-Lynches, this is the most important project I’ve done. This project means a lot to me because I was one of those poor rural kids riding the bus from my grandparents’ house. So, to be able to do something to give back, what I didn’t have, I’m extremely proud. Because collectively, we have taken care of the least of these while taking care of the masses. When we take care of the least of these, we are that tie that causes every ship to rise. When every ship rises, our community is better.”
Santee-Lynches has announced plans to install the same technology in primary entranceways at the schools and in their cafeterias. This will posture the schools to be resilient today and tomorrow. Administrators, teachers, and kids will be able to focus again on education and learning.
Click on the link to view Sumter Today Video: Cutting Edge Tech Comes to Sumter School Buses
