University news roundup
News and highlights from across the UNENE university community.
MARCH 12, 2021
Ontario Tech researcher investigates use of far-UVC light to stop COVID-19 transmission
A health physics and nuclear engineering researcher at Ontario Tech University is exploring a potential way to easily stop or control transmission of COVID-19.
Kirk Atkinson, an associate professor and NSERC/UNENE Industrial Research Chair, in the Faculty of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science (FESNS) says far-UVC lamps could potentially be a safe and inexpensive way of reducing airborne pathogens like coronavirus.
Atkinson’s paper, Predicting airborne coronavirus inactivation by far-UVC in populated rooms using a high-fidelity coupled radiation-CFD* model, was published in Nature Scientific Reports journal in November 2020.
Atkinson and his fellow researchers believe using far-UVC light, a safe type of ultraviolet light may be the answer to preventing COVID-19 transmission in enclosed spaces.
“Imagine if you could simply screw a far-UVC light bulb into a standard light fixture. Switching the light on will sterilize the air for everyone in the room. This is what we’re aiming for. We’ve done some simulations that looked at long-term care facilities and private rooms in hospitals. We discovered the effectiveness of far-UVC illumination in poorly ventilated spaces is as good as N95 masks in preventing transmission under some circumstances,” says Atkinson.
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Unique Canadian method for producing life-saving isotopes approved by Health Canada
In December 2020, a Canadian consortium, which includes the University of British Columbia (UBC), BC Cancer and TRIUMF became the first in the world to obtain regulatory approval for a unique approach to producing medical isotopes. The research has been led by François Bénard and Paul Schaffer of UBC.
The method allows for the production of technetium-99m (Tc-99m) for clinical use in Canada using small particle accelerators known as cyclotrons. Technetium-99m is the most commonly used medical radioisotope, accounting for approximately 80 per cent of all medical scans in Canada.
These medical isotopes are used in tens of millions of cardiac tests, cancer scans and other diagnostic nuclear medical procedures around the world each year.
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Nuclear physicist from Venezuela lands at U of T with help of Scholars-at-Risk Fellowship
University of Toronto researcher Diego Jesus Rada Rojas fled intimidation and harassment in Venezuela, where he worked in a national radiation safety lab, and is now conducting PhD research on air quality at U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
He was one of six scholars in 2020 who was supported by the Scholars-at-Risk Fellowship awarded by U of T’s School of Graduate Studies.
Rojas had been the head of a national radiation safety laboratory in Venezuela’s Ministry of Health. But his views did not align with the country’s authoritarian government which led to intimidation and harassment.
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