A Nose For Mold-Experts On Ozone

Experts on Ozone

"Although some manufacturers of air purification equipment claim that ozone eliminates
formaldehyde, at ambient concentrations it does not. (If ozone did oxidize formaldehyde, the reaction product would be formic acid, which is toxic and irritating in its own right.")
Jeffery May "Formaldehyde: Friend or Foe?" quoted in Indoor Environment Connections, November 2004. Jeffery May is co-author of "The Mold Survival Guide: For Your Home and for Your Health," and author of "My House is Killing Me! The Home Guide for Families with Allergies and Asthma."

Federal Regulations on Ozone
The U.S Food and Drug Administration's Title 21, Chapter I, Subchapter H, Part 801 deals with the labeling of health devices. Subpart H, Section 801.415 concerns Maximum
Acceptable Levels of Ozone:
Ozone is a toxic gas with no known useful medical application in specific, adjunctive,
or prevention therapy. In order for ozone to be effective as a germicide, it must be present in a concentration far greater than that which can be safely tolerated by man and animals.
Although undesirable physiological effects on the central nervous system, heart and vision have been reported, the predominant physiological effect of ozone is primary irritation of the mucous membranes. Inhalation of ozone can cause sufficient irritation to the lungs to result in pulmonary edema. The onset of pulmonary edema is usually delayed for some hours
after exposure; thus, symptomatic response is not a reliable warning of exposure to toxic concentrations of ozone. Since olfactory fatigue develops readily, the odor of ozone is not reliable index of atmospheric ozone concentration.
A number of devices currently on the market generate ozone by design or as a byproduct. Since exposure to ozone above a certain concentration can be injurious to health, any such device will be considered adulterated and/or misbranded within the meaning of sections 501 and 502 of the act if it is used or intended for use under the following conditions:

In such a manner that it generates ozone at a level in excess of 0.05 part per million by volume of air circulating through the device or causes an accumulation of ozone in excess of 0.05 part per million by volume or air ( when measured under standard conditions at 25°C [77°F] and 760 millimeters of mercury) in the atmosphere of enclosed space intended to be occupied by people for extended periods of time, e.g., houses, apartments, hospitals and offices. This applies to any such device, whether portable or permanent or part of any system, which generates ozone by design or as an inadvertent pr incidental product.

To generate ozone and release it into the atmosphere in hospitals or other establishments occupied by the ill or infirm.

To generate ozone and release it into the atmosphere and does not indicate in its labeling the maximum acceptable concentration of ozone which may be generated (not to exceed 0.05 part per million by volume of air circulating through the device) as established herein and the smallest area in which such device can be used so as not to produce an ozone accumulation in excess of 0.05 part per million.

In any medical condition for which there is no proof of safety and effectiveness.

To generate ozone at a level less than 0.05 part per million by volume of air circulating through the device and it is labeled for use as a germicide or deodorizer.

This section does not affect the present threshold limit value of 0.010 part per
million (0.2 milligram per cubic meter) of ozone exposure for an 8-hour day exposure
of industrial workers as recommended by the American Conference of Government
Industrial Hygienist. The method and apparatus specified in 40 CFR part 50, or any other equally sensitive and accurate method may be employed in measuring ozone pursuant to this section.

"Ozone in levels that are not damaging to the human respiratory tract will not kill significant numbers of fungal spores, especially those on surfaces. Levels that are high enough to kill fungi are extremely hazardous to humans, animals and plants and they can be used only where exposure will not occur. Ozone at levels high enough to kill fungi will also oxidize
materials in the treated environment, changing them in ways may not be desired."
Dr. Harriet Burge "Does Ozone Kill Fungi, and Can I Use It as Part of Fungal Remedition?"
Quoted in Indoor Environment CONNECTIONS, September 2004. Dr. Harriet Burge is
director of aerobiology at Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Inc. and associate
professor and director of the microbiology laboratory at the Harvard School of Public Health. Widely considered the leading expert in IAQ, Burge has served as a member of three National Academy of Sciences committees for IAQ, including as vice chair of the Committee on the Health Effects of Indoor Allergens.

Journal of the American Medical Association
"Scientists have long known that ozone, the main ingredient of smog, aggravates asthma and other respiratory illnesses and causes hospital visits to surge, particularly in severely polluted areas. But the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association is the first large, nation wide endeavor that links day-to-day ozone levels with an increased number of deaths. About 40 percent of the U.S. population live in the areas analyzed, according to the authors, from Yale and John Hopkins Universities. Places studied included much of
California, as well as Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, New York City and Atlanta. Francesca Dominici, a biostatistician at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and
co-author of the report, said the study 'provides strong evidence of short-term effects of ozone on mortality.' Ozone is formed when nitrogen and hydrocarbon gases from cars,
industries and consumer products react with sunlight. The study found that when ozone
levels increased by a fairly small amount, 10 parts per billion, the daily deaths from
non-injury causes over next few days increased on average 0.52 percent.
For cardiovascular and respiratory deaths, the increase was slightly higher, 0.64 percent, and for senior citizens, deaths increased by 0.70 percent.
Los Angeles Times, December 2004

Ozone-producing Air Cleaners
"Ozone-producing air cleaners are being aggressively marketed in the United States. Rarely does a day go by when I do not receive a direct mail advertisement or hear a radio or television campaign for these products. They are being distributed by some of the most
well-known and popular retailers of upscale products in the country. Due to the advertising dollars these retailers command, they have even enlisted the nation's leading radio
personalities to hawk their wares, including popular stars who personally endorse the
ozone-producing products.
The spin that these radio spots and infomercials put on ozone-generating air cleaners would be laughable if it weren't so frightening: 'Smell that sweet fresh ozone in your home.' 'One unit is good for a whole house'. "It's nature's way of freshening the air." These
machines are used by the Pentagon.' Astonishingly, one ozone producing air cleaner has even been able to convince a national allergy and asthma support organization into putting its seal of approval onto all of their advertising. A recent trend has been to drop the word 'ozone' out of the ads for these machines completely.
This may be because the American Lung Association, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada, and just about every other
respected health organization advises against using ozone-generating air cleaners. The company using the seal of approval stresses that it is an electrostatic air cleaner- not an ozone generator- and that is produces only small amounts of ozone as a byproduct.
Truth be told, I'm not able to comprehend any difference between ozone that is created by an ozone generator and ozone electrostatic air cleaner. The legal limit for both machines in occupied spaces is the same. Ozone is ozone.
Ozone is a lung irritant. Ozone is an asthma trigger. And yet these machines are being heavily advertised to parents of children who could die from an asthma attack. The
manufacturers of these machines have worked hard to create a new concept: safe levels of ozone. The advertisers who are selling ozone producing air cleaners are spending millions and millions of dollars to convince you that ozone is safe and healthy in your home. They are dead wrong.
We know that asthma is increasing at an alarming rate. Asthma is at its worst in areas that have increased rates of asthma triggers. Ozone is a clearly established asthma trigger. There are daily ozone health watches on the news that warn parents of children with asthma that they should stay indoors on some days; these health watches look at the ozone levels outside. How can someone tell parents in good conscience that the asthma trigger they are putting in their children's bedroom is at a safe level? How has "safe" been established here? Is there a safe number of cigarettes you have each day? Is there a safe level of secondhand smoke for you and your kids?
Hopefully awareness of the dangers of ozone producing air cleaners will grow, and changes will come. At press time, I am aware of four class action lawsuits that have been filed recently against the manufacturers, distributors and retailers of ozone producing air cleaners."
Frank Hammes "Ozone: What Air Cleaner Advertisers Don't Tell You"
Quoted in Indoor Environment CONNECTIONS, May 2004

Energy Adviser

"Home ozone generators may pose a health risk."
Public health agencies insist that ozone is potentially dangerous to human health and
advise that the generators not be used.
Ozone is a powerful respiratory irritant. The same chemical properties that allow ozone to react with organic material in the air also allow it to react with similar organic material inside the human body, particularly in the respiratory system.
While operation may not result in concentrations that exceed public health standards, the variability of houses, the duration of operation, and the output of individual units may allow concentrations to significantly exceed health standards at times.
Research has shown that at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards ozone may be a little use in removing contaminants. Studies conducted by Consumer
Reports, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the
U.S. EPA concluded that tabletop and room ozone generators are not effective in improving indoor air quality.

Choose the right air-cleaning device for you
You've probably seen dozens of air-cleaning devices on late-night infomercials. You want to get one to separate pollutants from the air that you would have inhaled into your lungs, but so many technologies available and so much technical jargon can be overwhelming. You may end up buying either the cheapest product or the one that is marketed the most.
The problem, however, is that "the products that are marketed the most often the worst, "says indoor air-cleaning expert Frank Hammes, president of IQAir.
Even worse is that most people don't need one says Janice Nolen, Director of National
Policy for the American Lung Association. "The most effective way to clean your air is to control the source of the problem.
Nolen said the ALA does not recommend any product that creates even a tiny amount of ozone, and she recommends reading the fine print about a cleaning device's ozone
production before purchasing it.

Ozone-Generating Air Cleaners and Indoor Air Chemistry-EPA Website
"Ozone-generating air cleaners are marketed to homeowners as well as business
establishments ostensibly to remove odors and other contaminants from indoor air. IEMB has characterized ozone and oxides of nitrogen emissions from these devices in full-scale environmental chamber tests and characterized performance in a research test house. To date, findings demonstrate that, for those models tested, ozone generation rates are
generally within the ranges stated by the manufacturers and some models have the
capacity to generate ozone concentrations of 200 parts per billion (ppb) in the test house, well above EPA's 8-hour ambient ozone standard of 80 ppb. Additionally, ozone and
nitrogen dioxide emission rates increase with decreasing relative humidity, and the
relationship between ozone emissions rate and nitrogen generation rate varies between
different models of different manufacturers. Ozone-generating air cleaners equipped with and ozone sensor/controller designed to prevent activation of the ozone generator at
concentrations about 50 ppb performed erratically in full-scale chamber test but appeared to perform as designed in limited short-term (24h) tests in a research test house.
We conclude that more extensive testing is needed to characterize the sensor/controller. However, tests in the research test house clearly demonstrate that these devices are
capable of producing ozone concentrations well above those of accepted health guidelines.
IEMB is currently investigating the impact of ozone generators on concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor environments. These experiments investigate the chemical reactions that take place when an ozone-generating air cleaner is operated in the presence of emissions from a typical source of VOCs, such as an air freshener or cleaning product. Results demonstrate that the ozone-generating air cleaners have a little impact on airborne concentrations of solvents used in consumer products, but do impact
concentrations of many of the fragrance compounds emitted by this type of product.
Reaction products inside formaldehyde and other oxygenated organics. The interaction
between ozone and some of the product emissions, such as terpenes, triggers formation of ultra fine particles. IEMB is currently refining analytical approaches to better characterize the 'soup' of particles and gases that result from operation of these devices in the presence of VOCs."