Ozone
Right from the start, we should tell you that Modern Alchemy Air Purifiers does not recommend or sell any ozone air cleaners. Why? Because they are not only suspect in their actual air cleaning abilities, but, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), can pose serious risks to your health.
Ozone is a highly reactive toxic gas and a major component of photochemical smog. The ozone molecule is composed of three atoms of oxygen (O3). Two atoms of oxygen form the basic oxygen molecule (O2) – the substance that is essential to life and that we all breathe. The third oxygen atom can detach from the ozone molecule, and re-attach to molecules of other substances, thereby altering their chemical composition.
Ozone air cleaners work by intentionally producing and releasing ozone gas into the air. Manufacturers of these devices claim that the ozone cleans indoor air by breaking down odours and other contaminants through a chemical reaction (i.e., bonding with the third oxygen atom), thus rendering contaminants harmless.
The same chemical properties that allow high concentrations of ozone to react with organic material outside the body, give it the ability to react with similar organic material inside the body, and potentially cause harmful health consequences. When inhaled, relatively low amounts of ozone can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and throat irritation. Ozone may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections, and in high enough concentrations, cause severe damage to the lungs. Read full EPA report
Manufacturers and vendors of ozone air cleaners often use misleading terms to describe ozone. Terms such as “energized oxygen,” “super oxygenated” or “pure air” suggest that ozone is a healthy kind of oxygen, when it is in fact a toxic gas with vastly different chemical and toxicological properties from oxygen. Several federal agencies have established health standards or recommendations to limit human exposure to ozone.
Available scientific evidence shows that ozone air cleaners are generally ineffective at removing indoor air contaminants unless it is used in concentrations that exceed public health standards. In other words, if it is not generating enough ozone to make you ill, it is also not generating enough ozone to clean the air.
While the use of these units to produce high levels of ozone may sometimes be appropriate to help decontaminate unoccupied spaces from chemical or biological contaminants or odours (e.g., fire restoration, flood damage, sewage backup), conditions should be sufficiently controlled to ensure that people and pets are not exposed to the ozone. Ozone can also adversely affect indoor plants, as well as damage materials such as rubber, electrical wire coatings, fabrics and art work containing susceptible dyes and pigments. Also, little is known about the chemical by-products left behind by these processes in regard to long-term health effects.
Modern Alchemy Air Purifiers recommends that you do not purchase an ozone air cleaner, or if you already have one, that it not be used in the presence of people or pets.
