Southampton Village Cabinet Maker Builds Light Boxes To Quell COVID-19

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and even well before it hit our shores, Dr. Peter Michalos, a Southampton ophthalmologist, was fascinated with scientific research surrounding coronavirus.

One of the aspects of its treatment, and possible prevention, that caught his attention was the use of UVC light as a tool for sanitizing and sterilization.

He spoke to his friend Shimon Peretz, a custom cabinet maker from Wainscott who has a shop in Southampton Village, about the idea of making “light boxes.”

“We were chatting about coronavirus and I knew that UVC killed viruses, mold, bacteria in minutes, and was looking at these tiny UV boxes for cell phones and tooth brushes and the ones used in nail salons for instruments,” Dr. Michalos recalled. He asked his friend to design one for him for groceries, large packages, and mail. Mr. Peretz “did a beautiful job,” he said.

At his shop in Southampton Village, Mr. Peretz has custom built light boxes in varied sizes for clients. He makes them to order, depending on how they will be used. They can be tiny for cleaning glasses, or large to hold an order of groceries, he explained. Plywood is his preferred material for the boxes.

The lights are imported from China. “Unfortunately, nobody makes them here,” he said.

A lighting unit is affixed inside the lid of the box, which is lined with reflectors. It has an external switch, because UVC can be harmful to humans if exposed directly.

Objects like groceries, or mail, or, in smaller boxes, cellphones, are placed inside, a switch on the exterior of the box turns the light on, and what’s known as ultraviolet germicidal irradiation begins. Groceries can be sanitized in just three minutes, Mr. Peretz said.

The ultraviolet light spectrum includes three types of light : UVA, UVB, and UVC. UVC light has a shorter, more energetic wavelength. In the late 1800s, researchers discovered it could be used to kill germs, and put it to work for water purification in Europe.

In 1903, Danish scientist Niels Ryberg Finsen won the Nobel Prize in recognition of his contribution to the treatment of diseases, especially lupus vulgaris (a form of tuberculosis), with concentrated light radiation. He was extolled by Nobel for opening a new avenue in medical science.

Aware that ultraviolet light had an inhibiting effect on bacteria, Mr. Finsen theorized tissues that had been attacked by bacteria might respond to treatment with light. He used concentrated beams of ultraviolet light to treat patients with lupus vulgaris with some success.

According to the tech and science website CNET, a UVC light sanitizer acts by penetrating the thin wall of a small microscopic organism and destroying its nucleic acids. This disrupts the DNA structure and either kills it or renders it unable to reproduce — and therefore harmless. As a result, the use of UVC light to sanitize and kill germs has many applications.

“UV is a known disinfectant for air, water and surfaces that can help to mitigate the risk of acquiring an infection in contact with the COVID-19 virus when applied correctly,” according to the International Ultraviolet Association, a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of ultraviolet technologies to help address public health and environmental concerns.

For over 100 years, researchers studied UVC light and its applications for killing germs and bacteria. However, interest in the use of light slowed when society embraced a different way for combating infection — antibiotics.

The coronavirus pandemic prompted a resurgence in interest in using light as a sanitizing agent. UVC is currently being used by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to sanitize train and subway cars.

Mr. Peretz has designed, made, and installed custom furniture and cabinets from his shop in Southampton Village under the company name Shape & Structure since 1991, when he moved to the East End.

He recalled getting his start as a furniture maker when he was living in Soho. A friend bought a loft and asked him to help build a wall, which led to more construction work. When he was called upon for a cabinetry job, he said, “I fell for it. It was like with my wife. I met my wife and that was the end.”