Springfield School District employs new disinfectant tech to fight Covid

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — There are several changes taking place as we welcome children back into the classroom.

Among mask wearing and social distancing, there's a new janitor in town as well.

"It's a disinfectant technology that we became aware of 6 months ago, and we started to do our research on it. A couple of goals, obviously number 1, we knew that Covid was in our community."

The second goal was to find a disinfectant without chemicals.

Look no further. Meet the "R-Zero Arc" - a hospital-grade disinfectant for surfaces and air.

"It's a UVC light-based technology," explains Springfield School District Chief Operations Officer Brett Yancy. "The way light works is it will refract off of all surfaces. So, it'll hit the floor and get those surfaces underneath the desk. Obviously, it'll cover the entire room. If there's space like behind a cabinet, or behind a trashcan, it obviously won't reach that."

Yancy says the "Arc" is a gamechanger.

It destroys harmful pathogens, including the coronavirus.

The cost to the district is $1.2 million for 35 units.

In the meantime, custodians will still be responsible for cleaning door handles and taking out trash.