echawkes t1_jcls73x wrote
The frequency of radiation used to sterilize things (like operating rooms in a hospital) is in the UVC range. UVC light is completely blocked by the earth's atmosphere: the UV light you are exposed to on the earth's surface is UVA and UVB.
scrapmek t1_jcmsagb wrote
This is the main difference, there was actually an incident where medical grade UVC bulbs made for sterilizing were accidentally used at an event which caused 'sunburn' and eye damage to the attendees.
Many organisms have evolved some resistance to UVA and UVB since it reaches the planets surface, although they can still cause enough damage to have a mild sterilizing effect.
[deleted] t1_jcn55xf wrote
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