Ozone Generators

[bb]

While doing a little research on the adverse effects of ozone generators on the human body, I ran across an interesting publication by the EPA.

I recently had a customer who had complained of feverish symptoms for several weeks. She had recently purchased a standalone ozone/UV generator.

The guise under which these contraptions are being sold are often misleading with references to "pure-air" or "clean-air"

Buyer Beware.

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html

[drumn91]

I have heard a story of someone being highly allergic to ozone and died from just an electronic air cleaner in their home. It swelled their throat closed and suffocated them. If you want clean air in your homes use the Sanuvox RG3500 UV air purifier along with Aprilaire's electronic air cleaner model 5000 and last but not least a good old fresh air recovery unit with heat and humidity recovery and HEPA filter integrated....Broan makes quite a few models. Ultimate fresh air

[41gasman]

BB:I did a job for a couple a year
or so.She was allergic to a bunch
of stuff like pollen dustand such.
Anyway these were some damm
intelligentpeaple.
Master degrees up the ying yan
docter this and doctor that.They
lived in the RIGHT part of town
and the inside of the house was
SPOTLESS!!!Evena budae(butt washer)
Anyway she work at the local
american lung asocation.
Their studys have been showing
that it takes very little ozone
(I don't no what little is in
this application)to irritate and
damage even a healthy set of lungs.
You just don't realise it.She had
me remove a three month old eac!
Better fo me for free.

In her research for the house
she had a IAQ company come out.
They tested the duct work.And
sure enough it was leaky as
hell.So they had there guys
go in and seal the snot out
of it.Still leaked bad.So IAQ
guys call me.So out with the
flash light and dive right
in.It was a FLEXAPUSS I tell
ya.Gave them the news.Ended
up replacing it all with hard
pipe.They even wanted me to
wash out the inside of the
duct with a 50% vinager
solution to remove the light
oil film!as it can make some
people sick.Had to cap off the
ends of the pipe to drag them
in the hole.Also silver wrapped
the WHOLE thing.Also installed
FResh air duct,air cycler,and
whole house hepa filter.NO
really.A WHOLE HOUSE hepa filter
everthing went though it.Two stage
V/S a/c,and humidifier.
She did'nt like the uv light.
Bulb life and all.I have been
looking into more of this line
of work. You get to do the really
high quality work.Which I love to
do.Anyway look at there web site.
Well sence I rambled on.And you
put up with me.I went and found
it for you.THis stuff is good
to educate your customers.
http://www.lungusa
.org Click on air quality.
then indoor air qualily.
Good luck.
AS usual jim should you chose
to accept this mission we know
nothing about it.This thead will
self destruct in 15 seconds!!!

[Jim Davis]

41gasman- we will have to discuss this subject a little more in depth a little later. I do not believe the American lung Association has done a real study on this, but they have read reports that surmised this info. Yes some people are allergic to Ozone including my boss. But the thousands of people whose health has radically improved because of ozone is usually ignored in most studies. Some people are allergic to penicillen, dairy products, grain, and bunches of other things and they are the ones that won't benefit from such things. But if only 1 in a 1,000,000 can't benefit the other 999,999 shouldn't be denied the opportunity. I have sold and recommended Ozone generators for almost 20 years with nothing but amazing results and no adverse affects. I can fax you some really eye opening info on this subject.

[bb]

Originally posted by Jim Davis
41gasman- we will have to discuss this subject a little more in depth a little later. I do not believe the American lung Association has done a real study on this, but they have read reports that surmised this info. Yes some people are allergic to Ozone including my boss. But the thousands of people whose health has radically improved because of ozone is usually ignored in most studies. Some people are allergic to penicillen, dairy products, grain, and bunches of other things and they are the ones that won't benefit from such things. But if only 1 in a 1,000,000 can't benefit the other 999,999 shouldn't be denied the opportunity. I have sold and recommended Ozone generators for almost 20 years with nothing but amazing results and no adverse affects. I can fax you some really eye opening info on this subject.

From what I can understand about them , they do nothing more than make everything smell chlorinated. Particles in the air end up bonding to each other and falling into the carpet or bond to other materials in the room. I.E. walls, furniture. I remember a recent customer who had an ozone maker plugged into his garage wall. The dirt caked up around the thing on the wall was magnificent. What good does it do to displace the filth ?

I'm sorry but I don't buy the line" As fresh as the air after a lightining storm due to the fact that it is the rain from a lightning storm that actually cleanses the air.

If you will read the report that I have posted you will see that in order for ozone to do any real cleansing it has to be at levels that are exceptionally high.

Some data suggest that low levels of ozone may reduce airborne concentrations and inhibit the growth of some biological organisms while ozone is present, but ozone concentrations would have to be 5 - 10 times higher than public health standards allow before the ozone could decontaminate the air sufficiently to prevent survival and regeneration of the organisms once the ozone is removed (Dyas, et al.,1983; Foarde et al., 1997).


Here is another link.

http://www.epa.gov/airnow/ozone2.html#6

Ozone can irritate your respiratory system, causing you to start coughing, feel an irritation in your throat and/or experience an uncomfortable sensation in your chest.

Ozone can reduce lung function and make it more difficult for you to breathe as deeply and vigorously as you normally would. When this happens, you may notice that breathing starts to feel uncomfortable. If you are exercising or working outdoors, you may notice that you are taking more rapid and shallow breaths than normal.

Ozone can aggravate asthma. When ozone levels are high, more people with asthma have attacks that require a doctor's attention or the use of additional medication. One reason this happens is that ozone makes people more sensitive to allergens, which are the most common triggers for asthma attacks. Also, asthmatics are more severely affected by the reduced lung function and irritation that ozone causes in the respiratory system.

Ozone can inflame and damage cells that line your lungs. Within a few days, the damaged cells are replaced and the old cells are shed-much in the way your skin peels after a sunburn.

Ozone may aggravate chronic lung diseases such as emphysema and bronchitis and reduce the immune system's ability to fight off bacterial infections in the respiratory system.

Ozone may cause permanent lung damage. Repeated short-term ozone damage to children's developing lungs may lead to reduced lung function in adulthood. In adults, ozone exposure may accelerate the natural decline in lung function that occurs as part of the normal aging process.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires ozone output of indoor medical devices to be no more than 0.05 ppm.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that workers not be exposed to an average concentration of more than 0.10 ppm for 8 hours.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends an upper limit of 0.10 ppm, not to be exceeded at any time.

EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone is a maximum 8 hour average outdoor concentration of 0.08 ppm (see - the Clean Air Act - http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/title1.html#ib)

# In an EPA study, several different devices were placed in a home environment, in various rooms, with doors alternately opened and closed, and with the central ventilation system fan alternately turned on and off. The results showed that some ozone generators, when run at a high setting with interior doors closed, would frequently produce concentrations of 0.20 - 0.30 ppm. A powerful unit set on high with the interior doors opened achieved values of 0.12 to 0.20 ppm in adjacent rooms. When units were not run on high, and interior doors were open, concentrations generally did not exceed public health standards (US EPA, 1995).

[bb]

Here are some of the claims made by one of the ozone generator producers.

NEW SUPER AIR PURIFIER

can Eliminate 98 % of Indoor Pollution

in 15 minutes

USED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE UNITED NATIONS

Now they need cleaning up!

utilizes the methods that nature uses to eliminate air pollution which is the sun and thunderstorms. Everyone is aware of that fresh air smell after a thunderstorm.

removes the following Inorganic pollutants:

All types of dust, methylene chloride, phenol, PD3, humic acid,
DIMPS, explosives such as TNT, glycerol, kepone, methyl ethyl
ketone, acetone from fingernail filings, styrene, all types nitro
compounds, formic acid, benzoic, butane, ethane, pentane,
propane, methane, alcohols, cyanide, detergents, phosphates
and many more.

EPA: Second, for many of the chemicals with which ozone does readily react, the reaction can form a variety of harmful or irritating by-products (Weschler et al., 1992a, 1992b, 1996; Zhang and Lioy, 1994). For example, in a laboratory experiment that mixed ozone with chemicals from new carpet, ozone reduced many of these chemicals, including those which can produce new carpet odor. However, in the process, the reaction produced a variety of aldehydes, and the total concentration of organic chemicals in the air increased rather than decreased after the introduction of ozone (Weschler, et. al., 1992b). In addition to aldehydes, ozone may also increase indoor concentrations of formic acid (Zhang and Lioy, 1994), both of which can irritate the lungs if produced in sufficient amounts. Some of the potential by-products produced by ozone’s reactions with other chemicals are themselves very reactive and capable of producing irritating and corrosive by-products (Weschler and Shields, 1996, 1997a, 1997b). Given the complexity of the chemical reactions that occur, additional research is needed to more completely understand the complex interactions of indoor chemicals in the presence of ozone.

will also rid your house of low levels of carbon
monoxide and other potentially harmful fumes.

EPA: Some manufacturers or vendors suggest that ozone will render almost every chemical contaminant harmless by producing a chemical reaction whose only by-products are carbon dioxide, oxygen and water. This is misleading.

* First, a review of scientific research shows that, for many of the chemicals commonly found in indoor environments, the reaction process with ozone may take months or years (Boeniger, 1995). For all practical purposes, ozone does not react at all with such chemicals. And contrary to specific claims by some vendors, ozone generators are not effective in removing carbon monoxide (Salls, 1927; Shaughnessy et al., 1994) or formaldehyde (Esswein and Boeniger, 1994).

Users of the _______ rave about it and say they wouldn't part with
it == not for any thing else or much money. They report relief from
allergies, sinus conditions, and other respiratory ailments.
They say they sleep better.

EPA: Whether in its pure form or mixed with other chemicals, ozone can be harmful to health.

When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs. Relatively low amounts of ozone can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and, throat irritation. It may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma as well as compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections.

[Jim Davis]

Originally posted by bb
Here are some of the claims made by one of the ozone generator producers.

NEW SUPER AIR PURIFIER

can Eliminate 98 % of Indoor Pollution

in 15 minutes

USED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE UNITED NATIONS

Now they need cleaning up!

utilizes the methods that nature uses to eliminate air pollution which is the sun and thunderstorms. Everyone is aware of that fresh air smell after a thunderstorm.

removes the following Inorganic pollutants:

All types of dust, methylene chloride, phenol, PD3, humic acid,
DIMPS, explosives such as TNT, glycerol, kepone, methyl ethyl
ketone, acetone from fingernail filings, styrene, all types nitro
compounds, formic acid, benzoic, butane, ethane, pentane,
propane, methane, alcohols, cyanide, detergents, phosphates
and many more.

EPA: Second, for many of the chemicals with which ozone does readily react, the reaction can form a variety of harmful or irritating by-products (Weschler et al., 1992a, 1992b, 1996; Zhang and Lioy, 1994). For example, in a laboratory experiment that mixed ozone with chemicals from new carpet, ozone reduced many of these chemicals, including those which can produce new carpet odor. However, in the process, the reaction produced a variety of aldehydes, and the total concentration of organic chemicals in the air increased rather than decreased after the introduction of ozone (Weschler, et. al., 1992b). In addition to aldehydes, ozone may also increase indoor concentrations of formic acid (Zhang and Lioy, 1994), both of which can irritate the lungs if produced in sufficient amounts. Some of the potential by-products produced by ozone’s reactions with other chemicals are themselves very reactive and capable of producing irritating and corrosive by-products (Weschler and Shields, 1996, 1997a, 1997b). Given the complexity of the chemical reactions that occur, additional research is needed to more completely understand the complex interactions of indoor chemicals in the presence of ozone.

will also rid your house of low levels of carbon
monoxide and other potentially harmful fumes.

EPA: Some manufacturers or vendors suggest that ozone will render almost every chemical contaminant harmless by producing a chemical reaction whose only by-products are carbon dioxide, oxygen and water. This is misleading.

* First, a review of scientific research shows that, for many of the chemicals commonly found in indoor environments, the reaction process with ozone may take months or years (Boeniger, 1995). For all practical purposes, ozone does not react at all with such chemicals. And contrary to specific claims by some vendors, ozone generators are not effective in removing carbon monoxide (Salls, 1927; Shaughnessy et al., 1994) or formaldehyde (Esswein and Boeniger, 1994).

Users of the _______ rave about it and say they wouldn't part with
it == not for any thing else or much money. They report relief from
allergies, sinus conditions, and other respiratory ailments.
They say they sleep better.

EPA: Whether in its pure form or mixed with other chemicals, ozone can be harmful to health.

When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs. Relatively low amounts of ozone can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and, throat irritation. It may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma as well as compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections.

What you are saying is that everything the govenment says is correct? Guess you drive an electric truck because the polution from gasoline vehicles are destoying the environment? And we don't want to use air conditioners bcause electricity is being produced by all the polluting utilities. Additional government farces include-Global Warming, Hole in the Ozone, NOX causes acid rain, Alaskan pipe would be hazardous to the animal population etc etc etc. Ozone generators are used in all burn unit hospitals, most operating rooms. Like anything, if used in excess it is harmful, even oxygen.

[bb]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jim Davis

What you are saying is that everything the govenment says is correct? Guess you drive an electric truck because the polution from gasoline vehicles are destoying the environment? And we don't want to use air conditioners bcause electricity is being produced by all the polluting utilities. Additional government farces include-Global Warming, Hole in the Ozone, NOX causes acid rain, Alaskan pipe would be hazardous to the animal population etc etc etc. Ozone generators are used in all burn unit hospitals, most operating rooms. Like anything, if used in excess it is harmful, even oxygen.

I never said that I believe everything that the government says, it's only that you have not provided any information by any credible sources that would actually back up their data. (In other words, in print)

I am certain that these products are beneficial in certain areas of health maintenance, but I don't believe that they should be passed off as a general purpose air cleaner.

Instead of advertising that their products help people with asthma, they should be honest and warn that this product aggravates some peoples' respiratory system.

Another consideration is the problem of not having a way of modulating the output on some models. In addition, someone who purchases one for 3000 sq. ft. and lives in a 800 ' apartment will probably have problems.

I am no expert in IAQ, but I do know what these devices have done to me in the past and many customers who were sold a panacea device.

[bb]

Originally posted by Jim Davis

What you are saying is that everything the govenment says is correct? Guess you drive an electric truck because the polution from gasoline vehicles are destoying the environment? And we don't want to use air conditioners bcause electricity is being produced by all the polluting utilities. Additional government farces include-Global Warming, Hole in the Ozone, NOX causes acid rain, Alaskan pipe would be hazardous to the animal population etc etc etc. Ozone generators are used in all burn unit hospitals, most operating rooms. Like anything, if used in excess it is harmful, even oxygen. [/B]

Here's some more info from whom I would consider credible sources.
http://www.alaw.org/air_quality/indo...neratiors.html

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/cps...ions/ozone.htm

And another informative link.

http://www.practicalasthma.net/pages/topics/aaozone.htm

[Edited by bb on 02-05-2005 at 06:50 PM]

[acg]

The older type of ozone generators had some health issue problems, for sure.When the lungs take in an oxygen molecule your hemoglobin absorbs it and releases a carbon dioxide,
but when O3 is introduced and absorbed it still can't release but one carbon dioxide (oxygen poisoning),plus the older type of ozone generators produced above the safe levels of .05 micron level and plenty of the bad nitrogen oxides.Newer types of the plasma generators are available
and work better.

[Jim Davis]

Ozone is a powerful oxidizing agent, second to fluorine in its ability to oxidize and disinfect. Ozone gas was discovered over 100 years ago, but it was not until World War I that it was used medically to treat wounds and other infections. This oxidative power ozone has proven to be effective in destroying lipid-enveloped viruses, such Epstein-Barr, Cytomegalovirus, and viruses that cause Hepatitis. Research has also shown that ozone easily destroys the HIV virus in the labratory. Data from this study can be found in"Blood: the Journel of Hematology", October 1991. In addition, ozone has been used successfully in the treatment of arthritis, cancer, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease, and many other conditions.
Is appears that when ozone is administered within 24-48 hours of a stroke, much of the paralysis and other post-stroke complications can be avoided. The use of ozone in spinal cord injury may also prove efficacious in preventing permanent paralysis by reducing swelling.
John C. Pittman M.D.
Really sounds like bad stuff doesn't it???

[bb]

Originally posted by Jim Davis
Ozone is a powerful oxidizing agent, second to fluorine in its ability to oxidize and disinfect. Ozone gas was discovered over 100 years ago, but it was not until World War I that it was used medically to treat wounds and other infections. This oxidative power ozone has proven to be effective in destroying lipid-enveloped viruses, such Epstein-Barr, Cytomegalovirus, and viruses that cause Hepatitis. Research has also shown that ozone easily destroys the HIV virus in the labratory. Data from this study can be found in"Blood: the Journel of Hematology", October 1991. In addition, ozone has been used successfully in the treatment of arthritis, cancer, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease, and many other conditions.
Is appears that when ozone is administered within 24-48 hours of a stroke, much of the paralysis and other post-stroke complications can be avoided. The use of ozone in spinal cord injury may also prove efficacious in preventing permanent paralysis by reducing swelling.
John C. Pittman M.D.
Really sounds like bad stuff doesn't it???

I wonder in how many of these situations that it is directly introduced into the lungs and at what levels ???

I will not dispute the fact that ozone has it's place in the medical profession. I only disagree with the suggestion that it should be used as a general air treatment method.