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posted on:
6/1/2012 5:10:12 PM EST
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A Little About Ozone
ozone, EPA, OSHA, commercial uses, health effects, dangers, indoor air quality, iaq, environmental,
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Chemists refer to ozone as an allotrope of oxygen. An allotrope is a form of the same element having different physical and chemical properties from other forms of the element. There are four elements that have allotropes: oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, and carbon. Ozone is a form of chemical oxygen having three atoms of oxygen per molecule instead of the usual two.
Ozone is generated when either an electrical discharge or an ultraviolet radiation is passed through oxygen. (Such as with the ionizing "air cleaning" devices on the market.) At room temperatures ozone can be seen as a pale blue gas and can have a sweet smell to it. You may have noticed this smell around operating electric motors or just after a lightening storm.
In recent years ozone has gained a lot of attention as it has grown in commercial use and has ill-effected the health of some workers in the workplace. While there are some very positive things about ozone use there are also some false claims and ill-health effects to be cautious of.
Commercially, ozone is used for several purposes; for example, it can be used as a bleach for oils, fats, textiles and sugar solutions. It can also be used as a microbicide in drinking water and waste-water treatment. A microbicide is a substance that effectively kills disease-causing microorganisms. In ozone's case, when used in drinking water it can kill the fearsome parasite cryptosporidium. (Chlorination alone does not destroy this parasite.) In waste-water, ozone can convert constituent hydrogen sulfide (sewer gas) into a benign sulfuric acid. However, treatment of any microorganism with gas-phase ozone has been said to be ineffective at concentrations safe for humans by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (who has gone so far as to state that no "air cleaners" that produce ozone should be used).
Why is that? Well, there are two characteristics of ozone that make it one of the most hazardous materials known: (1) a prodigious chemical re-activity and (2) a pronounced toxicity. Ozone damages the scavenger cells of the immune system; cells called macrophages. These cells customarily destroy foreign bacteria, so when they are damaged, they are unable to effectively accomplish this task and make persons more susceptible to contracting diseases. Here are a few other ill effects felt from breathing ozone:
* 0.18 ppm (parts per million) for 1 - 3 hours (in adults): reduced exercise performance.
* 0.12 ppm for 1 - 3 hours (in heavily exercising adults): reduced lung function, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, and airway inflammation
* Repeated exposure to 0.12 ppm (in laboratory animals): changes in lung structure, function, and biochemistry, which could signal the onset of chronic lung disease
* 0.08 ppm for 3 hours (in laboratory animals): increased susceptibility to bacterial respiratory infections
*0.01 - 0.15 ppm for several days (in children and adolescents playing outdoors): reduced lung function, aggravation of asthma, and increased hospital visits
In the workplace, OSHA requires employers to limit employee exposure to ozone concentrations (in the air) of 0.1 ppm, averaging an 8-hour workday. Outdoors the EPA established the primary and secondary national ambient air quality standards as 0.075 ppm as an 8-hour average.
So, whether you are working around, with or potentially within ozone or you are a concerned building occupant needing to remediate a contaminate - do not use ozone. When these things arise (known, suspect or potential in exposure) make sure to contact SOLUTIONS Indoor Environmental Consulting for the proper air quality audits and consultations. SOLUTIONS Indoor Environmental Consulting offers air quality assessment and consultation services to anyone in need that protect your health and safety as well as provide for regulatory compliance. To learn more email us at consultants@solutionsiec.com or call toll-free (877) 624-7185 ext. 1. We're also online at www.solutionsiec.com .
You don't have to take chances with your safety and health. Gain empowering Solutions - today!
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 | | Its as Paracelsus said, "All substances are poisons; there is none that is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy." |
| | |  | | WOW, how long you been doing this stuff? Great info Jason, Thanks and GO IBO |
| | |  | | really great information, Jason. John's right - now we know a little more about the hazards of ozone. it's kind or paradoxical since the Ozone Layer protects us in many ways. |
| | | | | Did you know that after an ozone machine is shut off the chemical interactions in the environment can continue up to a year or more, causing an increase in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)? |
| | |  | | I'm a bit familiar with the hazards of ozone after over 12 years in the restoration business. Now we use different methods except some tough situations in a controlled environment. Good Info People may have heard Ozone layer thousands of times but know nothing about it actually |
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