In Shantou City, Guangdong Province, a primary school ignored students’ advice and kept ultraviolet disinfection lamps on for three hours, resulting in over 50 students suffering injuries to their eyes and skin. This incident made headlines on Baidu’s hot searches on June 9th.
Around 1 am on June 6th, a parent named Zhou Ting posted online that three 6th-grade classes at Fengshan Street Central Primary School in the urban area of Shantou City used ultraviolet lamps for disinfection during a morning class on April 7th.
During the process, “during the first class, some students reported feeling uncomfortable when exposed to the ultraviolet disinfection lamp to the teacher. The teacher said to ignore it during the disinfection process. In the second class, some students reported feeling discomfort in their eyes and dizziness to the teacher. The teacher replied to focus on the lesson, and the teacher and the school did not address it in time and continued with the third class. Many children felt unwell and lay on the table after being exposed to the ultraviolet light; it was only in the fourth class that the ultraviolet disinfection lamp was turned off.”
Zhou Ting mentioned that on the night of the incident, some children couldn’t open their eyes, and their skin was found to be burned. Some parents took their children to the hospital, only to discover that they were injured by the school’s ultraviolet disinfection lamp. Subsequently, some parents shared videos of their children’s medical examinations in the class group to contact the head teacher. The head teacher asked parents to take their children to the hospital to see a doctor, and the next day, parents collectively took their children to the hospital for examinations.
In the post, Zhou Ting stated that on April 8th, the head teacher mentioned in the class group that the school would take responsibility for all expenses and requested parents to pay in advance, and the school would reimburse them later (keep the receipt).
However, to their surprise, the school did not address the medical expenses, evaded responsibility, and suggested legal action. They reached out to the Education Bureau and the school, both of which claimed to have no funds and advised them to pursue legal procedures.
One parent informed Huashang Daily that the injured students mostly exhibited symptoms such as eye pain, redness, and skin burns. The parent spent 500 RMB on their child’s treatment, while some parents spent over 1,000 RMB, and the highest reported expense was nearly 100,000 RMB.
Some parents questioned in the class group, stating that the ultraviolet lamp was kept on from the morning until the fourth class, almost at the end of the day, and the teachers and school leaders should have been aware of the harmful effects of ultraviolet disinfection lamps on the human body but did not take any protective or evacuation measures for the students in a timely manner. They believed that this basic error could have been avoided by the school, and the school waited until students showed severe symptoms before informing parents to seek medical attention, delaying the treatment and exacerbating the injuries.
On April 8th, the school issued an “Informing Letter” to apologize to parents, stating that three classrooms on the 5th floor of Teaching Building No. 1 were equipped with disinfection lamps during the epidemic but had been closed afterward. However, on the morning of April 7th, due to a malfunction in the assembly controller, the lamp remained on due to timing errors.
Public data suggests that moderate exposure to ultraviolet rays can sterilize and promote the production of vitamin D in the body, which is beneficial. However, excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays can cause photobiological reactions on the surface of the body, leading to denaturation of nuclear proteins and enzymes, and potential damage to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the cell nucleus. If damaged DNA is not promptly cleared by the immune system, it may continue to replicate, leading to cancer. International cancer research institutions have classified ultraviolet radiation as a Class I carcinogen. The harmful effects of excessive ultraviolet exposure mainly affect the eyes, skin, and immune system.
This news sparked discussions among nearly 2,100 netizens on Baidu, with many expressing confusion over the teachers’ lack of action when students reported discomfort from the ultraviolet light.
A netizen named “Mars Netizen” said, “The students don’t understand, but the teachers also don’t understand?”
A netizen from Tianjin, “Attitude Netizen 0r_ckJ,” commented, “Ignorance leads to fearlessness; the quality of the teachers is worrying for future generations.”
A netizen from Yinchuan, Ningxia, “Green-Haired Head,” revealed, “We use ultraviolet lamps for disinfection in our sterile room, and we can only enter half an hour after turning off the light. Once, I rushed to do a microbiology experiment and entered after ten minutes of turning off the lights; the smell was unbearable. After finishing the experiment, my colleague said I looked unusually haggard that day.”
A netizen from Wuxi, “Home Member,” believed, “I think the school doesn’t need to use disinfection lamps at all.”
A netizen from Zhuhai, Guangdong, “Ruitian,” expressed dissatisfaction with the school’s handling of the situation, saying, “Causing harm to children, apologizing to parents, what about the children? Can they just ignore it?”