Ozone and Ozone Generators

Ozone is a substance feared by those who do not understand it. It has the potential to be harmful and beneficial. Unfortunately, it is difficult to sift through the melee of well-intentioned misinformation and partial truths.

Ozone at high levels, usually determined at .1 or .2 parts per million (ppm), is dangerous and harmful to people. Anyone in the vicinity of that level of ozone would be compelled to leave because of the overpowering ozone odor. The EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Ozone is at .08ppm in the outdoors. You see, ozone is part of the air we breathe every day. Much of the concern associated with ozone is its rise in ppm in direct correlation to smog and air pollution. This has raise concern that ozone is related to health problems cause by poor air quality. Ozone is actually nature’s way of dealing with pollution. When pollution increases, ozone levels increase so they can counter the pollution via a chemical reaction and reduce the pollution in the air. As ozone does this, it drops down to lower levels. But where pollution is an increasing problem, ozone levels will continue to be high.

Safe levels of ozone that are used by industry leading ozone producing equipment operate ozone at levels typically within the range of .02-.3 parts per billion (ppb). This is a significant difference from the ppm that the EPA set as absolute maximum stretch standard for outdoor ozone levels. This is typically lower than the ozone levels you breathe every day outside.

But why would anyone want to use ozone? Just as nature uses ozone to combat the pollution from our automobiles and chemical plants, ozone at extremely low levels of parts per billion has been found to be extremely effective in the elimination of odors like smoke. It has also been found effective in killing airborne pathogens. It is one part of a multi-process system by which nature cleans the air. Dr. James Marsden and Dr. Allan Somersal, in their book, “Fresh Air For Life” have pointed out that ozone at safe levels is beneficial for cleaning air and is harmless to humans.

As ozone cleans the air it breaks down. That is why in a controlled environment like the home, an ozone generating machine may be putting out ozone yet the level of ozone in the house is lower than outside levels. The key to understanding ozone and its benefits verses its harm is good education. Every environment is different and the ozone settings for one particular environment may be either insufficient or too powerful in another environment.

Much of the misinformation and hostile attitude towards ozone is generated by fear. Recently the California Air Resource Board (ARB) passed restrictions on ozone generating machines. These restrictions led to a lot of negative press and most often complete misinformation about what the restrictions were about. You see, the leading manufacturers of ozone generation equipment all comply with EPA standards. They operate at levels well below those which are considered safe even by ARB. But some of these generators have a function on them that allows you to sanitize a focus area with doors and windows shut when nobody is around. This would be especially beneficial if you had smoke damage in a house, mold or mildew odors, or many other problems of similar nature. The ARB’s restriction basically translates into the idea that Californians are not intelligent enough to operate this feature. The restriction takes this ability away from the average consumer and commercializes it. When the restrictions take affect, the average consumer will no longer be able to do it themselves, they will have to hire a commercial operator to come and use a commercial ozone generator to do it for them.

Whether or not it is true that Californians are not intelligent enough to operate this special sanitize feature, the ARB is not condemning the typical operating levels of most ozone machines. Properly used, ozone is very beneficial and has played a significant role in improving the breathing ability of people with air related issues. The leading companies that use ozone as a part of air cleaning technology use it at levels well below what are considered safe standards and have a proven track record of making a dramatic difference in the lives of people with air related health issues.