In a brief statement on Thursday morning, Yuga Labs said that “UV-A emitting lights installed in one corner of the event” was likely the cause of eye pain experienced by attendees of the Bored Ape Yacht Club event ApeFest in Hong Kong.
Following the three-day event, reports poured in of attendees rushing to emergency rooms, each citing some variety of eye pain, temporary blindness, and skin irritation.
In their statment, the creators of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection said that Yuga Labs had launched an investigation into the ApeFest installations and reviewed which materials were used, conducted in partnership with the event’s organizers, brand agency Jack Morton Worldwide.
Twitter users had previously hypothesized that the illumination used during ApeFest was high-powered UV-C bulbs intended for the disinfection of surfaces, instead of blacklights.
Blacklights are designed to emit UV-A light because it is safer for humans and have the ability to cause fluorescent materials to glow without the dangerous side effects associated with UV-C radiation, which is used primarily for disinfection and sterilization purposes due to its germicidal properties.
Hypebeast held an event in Hong Kong back in 2017, which left attendees with many of the same symptoms as those experienced in the aftermath of ApeFest. One attendee of the Hypebeast event reportedly returned to the venue and discovered that at least one of the bulbs used for the event’s lighting was UV-C.
At least one Bored Ape NFT holder has already threatened legal action in the aftermath.
The founder and CEO of the art technology platform Artfi Asif Kamal said that he had sent a “legal notice” to Yuga Labs, describing it as a “first step toward suing them.”
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