Are air purifiers that put ozone in the air dangerous???
My fiance’s parents have an air purifier in their home that puts ozone in to the air. They leave it running in their home about 85% of the time… I heard somewhere that this is dangerous for your health. Is this true? Does anyone have any more information about this? Thanks!
Ozone is excessive amounts is dangerous, but these machone you’re talking about put out ozone in much less quantities than the dangerous amount and they are perfectly safe. If it gives you a headache it is the the properties of ozone cleansing the toxins from your body, that’s what ozone does.
If it were dangerous, it would have warnings to that effect or they couldn’t sell them at all.
http://www.airzoneair.com/
Ozone can be an irritant to people in large enough quantities. It is considered a polutant in our level of the atmosphere.
I don’t believe they are, but they make me cough! For this reason I don’t like them.
Do the research, ozone is bad…You wouldn’t find one of those machines in my home!
Probably not. The evidence is mixed.
Available scientific evidence shows that at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone has little potential to remove indoor air contaminants.
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).
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.
Third, ozone does not remove particles (e.g., dust and pollen) from the air, including the particles that cause most allergies. However, some ozone generators are manufactured with an "ion generator" or "ionizer" in the same unit. An ionizer is a device that disperses negatively (and/or positively) charged ions into the air. These ions attach to particles in the air giving them a negative (or positive) charge so that the particles may attach to nearby surfaces such as walls or furniture, or attach to one another and settle out of the air. In recent experiments, ionizers were found to be less effective in removing particles of dust, tobacco smoke, pollen or fungal spores than either high efficiency particle filters or electrostatic precipitators. (Shaughnessy et al., 1994; Pierce, et al., 1996). However, it is apparent from other experiments that the effectiveness of particle air cleaners, including electrostatic precipitators, ion generators, or pleated filters varies widely (U.S. EPA, 1995).
There is evidence to show that at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone is not effective at removing many odor-causing chemicals.
In an experiment designed to produce formaldehyde concentrations representative of an embalming studio, where formaldehyde is the main odor producer, ozone showed no effect in reducing formaldehyde concentration (Esswein and Boeniger, 1994). Other experiments suggest that body odor may be masked by the smell of ozone but is not removed by ozone (Witheridge and Yaglou, 1939). Ozone is not considered useful for odor removal in building ventilation systems (ASHRAE, 1989).
While there are few scientific studies to support the claim that ozone effectively removes odors, it is plausible that some odorous chemicals will react with ozone. For example, in some experiments, ozone appeared to react readily with certain chemicals, including some chemicals that contribute to the smell of new carpet (Weschler, 1992b; Zhang and Lioy, 1994). Ozone is also believed to react with acrolein, one of the many odorous and irritating chemicals found in secondhand tobacco smoke (US EPA, 1995).
If used at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone applied to indoor air does not effectively remove viruses, bacteria, mold, or other biological pollutants.
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).
Even at high concentrations, ozone may have no effect on biological contaminants embedded in porous material such as duct lining or ceiling tiles (Foarde et al, 1997). In other words, ozone produced by ozone generators may inhibit the growth of some biological agents while it is present, but it is unlikely to fully decontaminate the air unless concentrations are high enough to be a health concern if people are present. Even with high levels of ozone, contaminants embedded in porous material may not be affected at all.
You can look this up on WebMD.com. Yes, they are very dangerous. Ozone is basically smog. Ozone air purifiers are basically making the inside of your home smoggy and this is not healthy to breathe. Air purifiers that release ions into the air do the same thing but to a lesser degree. I would talk to your fiance’s parents and try to convince them to get rid of their air purifier immediately. Print out the information you find on WebMD.com and show it to them.
They are not good the best choice in air purifiers (most hepa filters don’t produce ozone)
Ionizing Air Cleaners May Pose Health Hazard
Machines Add to Indoor Ozone, Consumer Reports Investigation Shows
By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
on Monday, April 04, 2005
April 4, 2005 — Some popular ionizing air cleaners could be hazardous to your health, especially if you have asthma or allergies, says a product testing group.
An investigation by Consumers Union (CU) — the products testing group that publishes Consumer Reports — found that five of the best-selling models tested emitted relatively high levels of ozone.
Ozone exposure can aggravate allergies and decrease lung function. It is a harmful gas resulting from car exhaust, gasoline vapors, and other pollutants.
"It is both misleading and irresponsible for an organization like Consumer Reports to suggest that there is any potential harmful effect from a product that tens of thousands of people have purchased and are using every day without adverse consequences," Sharper Image spokesman and general counsel E. Bob Wallach tells WebMD.
A recent study showed that short-term increases in ozone levels in the outside air contribute to thousands of deaths a year in the United States.
Ongoing Feud
In an October 2003 report, CU researchers concluded that ionizing purifiers do a much poorer job of cleaning the air of dust and smoke than their advertising suggests. The report led to a lawsuit against the consumer group by Sharper Image Corp., which makes the top-selling ionizing air purifiers — the Ionic Breeze line.
The suit was dismissed in November of last year, and Sharper Image has since agreed to pay just over half a million dollars in court costs.
While acknowledging that the new ozone tests did not show that the air cleaners pose a clear health hazard, Consumers Union vice president and spokesman Jeff Asher says they did suggest a potential risk. None of the ionizing air purifiers tested exceeded a generally accepted ozone safety level when the air was measured 3 feet away.
"The bottom line is that these products don’t work anyway, so why would anyone want to expose themselves to a level of ozone which, when added to the ozone that is already in the home, certainly isn’t going to do them any good?" Asher tells WebMD.
Wallach added that the Ionic Breeze model used in the latest test has been shown to comply with federal regulations for safe ozone emissions.
CU’s latest investigation included Sharper Image’s Professional Series Ionic Breeze Quadra S1737 SNX, and four other top-selling brands of ionizing air cleaners: Brookstone’s Pure-Ion V2; Ionic Pro CL-369; IonizAir P4620; and Surround Air XJ-2000.
The findings are published in the May issue of Consumer Reports.
All five of the ionizers failed CR recommendations, with overall failed scores based on the air cleaner’s ability to remove fine dust, smoke, and pollen from a test chamber. They also failed the standard sealed-room testing for ozone levels by producing more than 50 parts per billion (ppb) of ozone detected within 2 inches away from the machine over a 24-hour period.
They all fared better, however, when the tests more closely mimicked conditions in a typical home. In tests measuring ozone levels 3 feet away from the machine in a well-ventilated room, the Brookstone cleaner Pure-Ion V2 emitted the least ozone at 2 ppb and the IonizAir P4620 model emitted the most, at 28 ppb, according to Asher.
"Fifty ppb is the accepted cutoff level for safety, and clearly the worst (ozone emitter) tested generated just over half of that," he says. "So, one might conclude that there is no danger with these machines. While for most people that is probably true, some people do seem to be particularly susceptible to ozone."
A.Mercer,
You do not allow emails, so I find you here…
A. Mercer,
"Immigrants" you say?
NAY! My Dear Father is an immigrant! My Grand Mother is an immigrant! HOW DARE YOU of such a little mind try to SPEAK for ME!!!!!!!!! You are wrong, plain and simple! You like to be wrong, you like to argue and you are sick. That is obvious! Stop posting lies and arguments on my thought provoking post! Waiste your own time on your evil not my good, correct and precious time! You had a chance to be educated, now I tire of you! Begone!