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Air Purifier & Ozone Danger

Ozone, a naturally occurring molecule that can deodorize homes by changing the chemical nature of air particles, may harm more than it helps. Home air purifiers that produce ozone can damage occupants' health, and the lack of consistent standards for controlling the ozone output on these devices makes them potentially dangerous.

  1. Ozone

    • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines ozone as an oxygen molecule that contains three oxygen atoms instead of the usual two. Ozone exists naturally both in the atmosphere and in ground-level chemical reactions. The third oxygen atom tends to detach from the rest of the molecule, attaching to airborne substances and changing their composition.

    Ozone and Air Purification

    • Ozone's ability to bind to other compounds makes it a popular air purification method. According to AirPurifiers.com, the third oxygen atom oxidizes other substances on contact, eliminating odors. Professionals use ozone treatment to kill mold and mildew in flooded homes, taking care to remove occupants and pets during the procedure. Ozone's effectiveness as a room deodorizer has led companies to produce home air purifiers that use ozone.

    Ozone and Health

    • The same properties that make ozone attractive as a room deodorizer can also endanger health. Just as ozone's third oxygen atom reacts with substances in the air, it reacts with substances inside the body, particularly in the lungs. The EPA states that inhaled ozone can cause lung damage, chest pain, throat irritation and other respiratory difficulties. Asthma sufferers and people with low resistance to respiratory ailments face a heightened danger from inhaled ozone, but even otherwise healthy people can damage their health by exposing themselves to large amounts of ozone.

    Air Purifier Problems

    • Air purifiers that depend on ozone to get their results may seriously impair the health of home occupants. AirPurifiers.com notes that some manufacturers tell occupants to turn the device's power up until they can smell a "fresh laundry" odor, while others tell them to turn the setting down if they can smell the ozone, but the variability of people's senses of smell makes this sort of advice unreliable. The EPA adds that the control settings on these devices seem to have little bearing on actual ozone output, with the ozone levels at the maximum setting often reaching 10 times those emitted at the medium setting.

    Considerations

    • Exposure to ozone from an air purifier or other ozone-generating unit depends on certain variables. According to the EPA, ozone concentration in a room can vary based the size of the room relative to the power of the device or the number of devices at work in the room. An occupant's exposure level also depends on his nearness to the actual device, because the ozone levels drop over distance. While manufacturers take these factors into consideration in their air purifiers' operating manuals, the EPA feels that the vagueness of the instructions may not fully protect the owners of the devices.

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