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So… a bunch of NFT grifters threw a party in Hong Kong this weekend and reportedly a bunch of attendees are now at risk of permanent eyesight damage because the promoters used unsafe lighting, and people are going to the ER… [image: Tweet from yallahhabibibtc reading: "POV: You bought an expensive JPEG and flight to Hong Kong to attend a festival and almost lose your eye sight. Yuga never disappoints."]ALT [image: Tweet from creamcurtis reading: "Yes me too! 3am woke up eyes burning i could barely open them."]ALT[image: Tweet from docwagmi reading: "Getting a few pings on eye issues from Ape friends that were up close with us front stage at #ApeFestHK Quick thread on Photokeratitis, remedies to try, and what to look out for 🧵👇"]ALT [image: Tweet from cryptojune777 reading: "I woke up at 04:00 and couldn't see anymore. Had so much pain and my whole skin is burned. Needed to go to the hospital. The doctor told me the uv of the lightning of the state did it. It has the same effect as sunlight. Still can not see normally.."]ALT[image: Tweet from feld4014 reading: "Anyone else’s eyes burning from last night? Woke up at 3am with extreme pain and ended up in the ER. I saw a couple reports but just trying to figure out if there was a common thread.?]ALT [image: Tweet from crypto_birb reading: "Posting that in hope that my friends suffering the same issue realise they need medical attention ASAP (read full) Thanks for great apefest logistiscs guys yugalabs & boredapeyc. Incredible event and met plenty of amazing people. Still, as dozens of others, I’ve almost lost sight this night. I’m being taken care of by doctors now and have only good intentions writing this post. To all my friends who suffer now: go get your eyes checked. You’ve likely most literally got your eyes burnt with UV like I did, which requires medications, eye drops, eye protection, antibiotics and specialist care. Don’t ignore this health hazard. Without proper treatment, it may cause long lasting vision impairment and other serious damage. To the organisers: For the communication & awareness reasons, it would be fair to put together an official statement with recommendations what to do, as dozens of people you care about were exposed to serious health hazards and lots of suffering. You’re good guys so it should be easy for you to recognise the seriousness of it. Much love!"]ALT

Found a picture of the stage setup with the UV lights

The contractor who set up the lights used bulbs that emit uv-c light, which is mostly used for sterilization

I did a quick search for the bulbs and almost every result mentions sterilization or germicide, I have to assume it’s impossible to purchase these, (in bulk! enough to light a stage!) without knowing that they’re for killing living organisms.

Link to an article about it https://cointelegraph.com/news/bored-ape-eye-vision-problems-apefest-hong-kong-lighting

fucking%20INSANE#i’d love

to be like “lol they deserve it” but this is such a fucked up thing to do to a captive audience???? <https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/i'd%20love%20to%20be%20like%20''lol%20they%20deserve%20it''%20but%20this%20is%20such%20a%20fucked%20up%20thing%20to%20do%20to%20a%20captive%20audience%3f%3f%3f%3f>#also love how the one guy is like “ur good guys so u’ll do the right thing and make a statement… right? :)” <https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/also%20love%20how%20the%20one%20guy%20is%20like%20''ur%20good%20guys%20so%20u'll%20do%20the%20right%20thing%20and%20make%20a%20statement...%20right%3f%20%3a)''>#but fr this is so fucked up i hope they use all their crypto bro money to sue the hell out of the event organizers https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/but%20fr%20this%20is%20so%20fucked%20up%20i%20hope%20they%20use%20all%20their%20crypto%20bro%20money%20to%20sue%20the%20hell%20out%20of%20the%20event%20organizers

Yeah I don’t think this is something anyone reasonably deserves. I mean, we can roll our eyes at people dumb enough to pour all their money into the Stupidest Scam Ever, but I think ‘the lights at this concert meet basic safety standards’ is a reasonable assumption for anyone to make. I don’t interrogate the people at my local cinema about what kind of UV lights they have, I just assume they’re using normal ones that won’t send me blind. That guy up there is being weirdly forgiving of these penny-pinching arseholes (“you’re good guys” THEY BLINDED YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS WITH THE STUPIDEST SAFETY VIOLATION POSSIBLE) but this one’s entirely on the organisers.

Of course, the really stupid thing would be if they’re too addicted to the taste of boot leather to organise a class action lawsuit. They better sue. The organisers should be paying every cent of lost work, general suffering and medical care costs.

a) how does this happen and b) why don’t other situations with uv lights

do this? <https://www.tumblr.com/derinthescarletpescatarian/tagged/a)%20how%20does%20this%20happen%20and%20b)%20why%20don't%20other%20situations%20with%20uv%20lights%20do%20this%3f>#like i used to go to laser tag that had uv lights and we were fine? https://www.tumblr.com/derinthescarletpescatarian/tagged/like%20i%20used%20to%20go%20to%20laser%20tag%20that%20had%20uv%20lights%20and%20we%20were%20fine%3F#or maybe that’s black lights and it’s different??? <https://www.tumblr.com/derinthescarletpescatarian/tagged/or%20maybe%20that's%20black%20lights%20and%20it's%20different%3f%3f%3f>#idk whatever the thing is that makes white clothes glow in the dark https://www.tumblr.com/derinthescarletpescatarian/tagged/idk%20whatever%20the%20thing%20is%20that%20makes%20white%20clothes%20glow%20in%20the%20dark

They used a different kind of UV light, one for sterilising things. It emits a kind of UV that kills living tissue.

I don’t know the details of the situation but I’ve heard people speculate that production of these sterilising lights was ramped up due to an expected surge in sales (due to Covid) that never materialised, so these guys probably went “oh sweet, incredibly cheap surplus UV lights someone’s offloading” and did no further research on the matter. I have no idea how true that is, though.

Specifically, regular blacklights are considered safe. They emit UVA, which is the lowest energy UV, and they emit it at much lower levels than if you went outside. These lights, made for sterilizing, are UVC. It’s way worse than going outside without sunglasses, because you will NEVER encounter UVC from the sun unless you’re a fucking astronaut. The atmosphere blocks UVC from reaching us. So this is WAY worse than just being exposed to a bunch of sunlight without adequate protection. Even the sunlight that gives you burns and skin cancer is lower energy than UVC, and therefore does less damage than UVC. That’s WHY lamps with UVC are so effective at sterilizing. This shit is bad bad bad.

Here’s a good explanatory video about it. An important point: the blindness is temporary. (Your picture was not posted)