An ultraviolet lamp that was unintentionally left on for hours inside a classroom in an eastern China kindergarten school caused pupils to suffer from burns and pain in the eyes.

Workers at Dongyuan Kindergarten in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, said that a staff member at the school failed to turn off the ultraviolet light that is routinely turned on every morning to kill bacteria in the classroom. While it was only scheduled to be turned on for less than an hour every morning, it stayed on for the whole morning, hurting all pupils present in the room.

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At least eight children were taken to the hospital in Hangzhou for eye treatments while about 20 more were applied with eye ointments.

The staff reportedly failed to turn the light off, presumably because the switch was not fully pressed. Because the room was bright that morning, teachers failed to notice the still-on UV lamp sandwiched between two fluorescent lamps that were brightly lit.

Many pupils went to the school’s headmaster, surnamed Xu, to report that their eyes didn’t feel comfortable right after lunch time. After seeing the kids’ irritated and red eyes, as well as other symptoms, school staff asked for professional help from doctors regarding what to do. Some were then brought to the hospital.

One of the pupils’ mothers, who was a doctor at a local eye hospital, said that prolonged exposure to UV rays will hurt and damage the eyes, but is hopeful that the pupils will recover in three days’ time.

Ultraviolet Blunders

This report brings to mind a similar problem with ultraviolet lights used in classroom settings. Back in October, an unknown number of primary students from Wellington College International Shanghai were hospitalized for eye injuries sustained after using an “unsuitable type” of UV light for their classroom demonstration.

Tagsultraviolet light, Dongyuan Kindergarten, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Wellington College International Shanghai, David Cook