Finland Nordics

Finland Billboards Now Double as Disinfectant Terminals for Mobile Phones

by Fintechnews Baltic October 29, 2020

Nordic health company Terveystalo has turned billboards into disinfectant terminals that can supposedly clean a phone in only 15 seconds with UVC light.

The billboards are located in Helsinki and Turku in southern Finland. There is a small hatch in the billboard where people can place their smartphone for cleaning.

However, exposure to UVC light can cause skin irritation and in extreme cases loss of sight. Safety of the user is secured by the fact that the UVC light in the billboards turns on only when the hatch is closed. Terveystalo reassures the public that it is physically impossible for anyone to harm themselves.

Disinfecting and washing hands has become a common routine. However, few are aware of the vast amount of bacteria and viruses dwelling on the surfaces of our smartphones – devices we constantly touch and hold against our faces. According to a recent research coronavirus can survive four weeks on a smartphone screen.

This is why Terveystalo, aims to bring disinfecting terminals to public places where they can be accessed by anyone.

Veera Siivonen

“We at Terveystalo see health in a wider context. Not only do we cure diseases but concentrate on preventing them. In the midst of a global pandemic, having a strong immune system and practicing proper hand hygiene is highly important. This project is also a reminder for people to take care of all aspects of their health and billboards are a great way to spread this important message”,

says Veera Siivonen, Marketing and Communications Director from Terveystalo.

There are disinfection solutions for smartphones available to consumers but they can take up to 15 minutes of UVC exposure. The new solution introduced by Terveystalo, however, purportedly does the job in 15 seconds with a hospital-grade technology.

According to Terveystalo’s research, a 10 second exposure to UVC light disinfects smartphone surfaces nearly perfectly.

The effectiveness of UVC light in disinfecting surfaces has also been proven by previous researches. The solution has been developed together with Sterlights, a Finland-based company that imports and distributes hospital-grade UVC lights.

According to Dr. Udy Ben Yosef, Chief Scientific Officer from Sterlights Oy, “the cheap consumer products usually have low-output lamps that require longer exposure time”.

Which is why the lamps that are used in the disinfecting stations make use of UVC light with a 254nm wavelength that destroys all pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. These high-output UVC lamps supposedly take only 15 seconds to properly disinfect smartphone surfaces.

Turning billboards into disinfectant terminals is only the first phase of the project. The solution is currently developed further to work as a stand alone disinfectant unit for example in public places.