Zero side effects.
Used routinely in Europe for over 50 years.
Illegal in America.
It's a "profit" thing.
Zero side effects.
Ozone is highly poisonous. Its OSHA TWA is 0.1 ppm, with an emergency short term exposure limit of 1 ppm. 50% human lethality is obtained at 50 ppm exposure for 30 minutes. It's also explosive, and highly unstable.
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/idlh/10028156.html
Well sure -- at high enough concentrations, in a test tube. But then so does hydrochloric acid.
Zero side effects.
Exsqueeze me? The same concentrations of ozone that "kill all bacteria, viruses, pathogens and fungi upon contact" will also cause damage to other kinds of living tissue, including in humans. That's why ozone is one of the pollutants tracked by most air pollution regulations.
Ozone is no "magic bullet". It's just a corrosive variant of oxygen, which will bleach and/or corrode just about anything it contacts. Yes, enough ozone will damage single-celled organisms including the ones that act as pathogens. It will also damage human tissue, as well as rubber, nylon, plastics, dyes, and paints.
That sounds like a lot more than "zero side effects" to me.
From http://www.airinfonow.org/html/ed_ozone.html:
Ironically, if you're trying to use ozone as a disinfectant:Ozone Concentrations and Your Health
Two of the most important factors are the concentration of ozone and duration of exposure. Numerous epidemiological studies show the relationship between health effects and specific ozone ranges. EPA has gathered information about health effects through research, studies comparing health statistics and ozone levels in the communities, and controlled testing of human volunteers.
The EPA has developed the Air Quality Index (AQI) for reporting the levels of ozone and other pollutants, and their effects on human health. The AQI scale has been divided in different categories, which range from 0 to 300. Each category corresponds to a different health impact (Table1). The NAAQS for ozone are 0.120 ppm averaged over 1 hour and 0.08 ppm averaged over 8 hours.
0.125 (1-h) TO 0.404 (8-h) ppm (VERY UNHEALTHY)
At ozone concentrations from 0.125 to 0.404 ppm, sensitive people experience severe respiratory symptoms and impaired breathing.
Recent studies of humans exposed to these ozone concentrations have shown pulmonary function impairment during heavy exercise (7). Another study, conducted in Mexico City, shows that exposures from 0.170 to 0.250 ppm 1-h, increase the occurrence of respiratory symptoms, such as cough, phlegm, difficulty in breathing, and reduce PEFRs among children with mild asthma (2). In addition, ozone exposure to 0.30 ppm 1-h induces lower airway inflammation. This is manifested by PMN influx measured by bronchoalveolar lavage (3). Also, at this concentration with continuous exercise, FEV1 decreases.
0.105 to 0.124 ppm (UNHEALTHY)
1 HOUR EXPOSURE. A study conducted in Atlanta indicated that when the maximum 1-h ozone level equaled or exceeded 0.110 ppm, the number of emergency visits to the hospital for asthma or reactive airway disease increased in children. During this exposure, many children and adults progressively developed substernal pain on deep inspiration, coughing, and reduction of vital capacity and FEV1 (1).
8 HOURS EXPOSURE. Reduction in lung function is observed with exposures of <0.12 ppm over 6-8 hours with moderate exercise, manifested by decrements in FEV1. (4,5).
0.085 TO 0.104 ppm (UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS)
1 HOUR EXPOSURE. Sensitive people, active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease under heavy outdoor exertion, may experience respiratory symptoms such as coughing or pain when taking a deep breath, and reduced lung function. Other studies have associated 0.100 ppm ozone concentrations with increased respiratory hospital admission in elderly (12).8 HOUR EXPOSURE. In accordance with AQI, sensitive people, active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease under prolonged outdoor exertion, may experience respiratory symptoms such as coughing or pain when taking a deep breath, and reduced lung function, which can cause some breathing discomfort.
A series of studies conducted in the USA (1,3,6) demonstrated that with 0.09 ppm ozone, the number of hospital visits for asthma increased and people undergoing moderate exercise increased their sensitivity to ozone. Also, 0.100 ppm ozone induces neutrophilic influx into the airway and resulting inflammation, and a decrease in forced expiratory volume (FEV1) and PEFR in asthmatic people (children and adults).0.065 to 0.84 ppm (MODERATE)
1 HOUR EXPOSURE. In this specific range, based on the AQI standards, ozone health effects are not expected. However, in a study of 154 children aged 10-12 years in Tennessee, 0.078 ppm of ozone was associated with decrements in FEV1 and FEF25-75 (5), and with 0.082 ppm an increase in asthma-related hospitals visits was observed.
8 HOURS EXPOSURE. Sensitive people may experience respiratory effects from prolonged exposure to ozone during outdoor exertion. In addition, other studies (1,6,8) have demonstrated that ozone concentrations at 0.080 ppm produce adverse effects on human health such as PEFR decrements in asthmatic children (6), decrements in FEV1 with intermittent exercise in healthy men (5,7), and increased hospital visits for asthma (1,8).
to 0.064 ppm (GOOD)
In accordance with NAAQS and AQI, at ozone levels from 0.0 to 0.64 no health effects are expected and the air quality is considered "GOOD". However, recent studies have demonstrated that at these concentrations ozone can exert adverse health effects.
1 HOUR EXPOSURE. A study conducted in Brisbane, Australia by Simpson et al. demonstrated an association between 0.030 ppm ozone and daily mortality in the elderly (11). In a study in Mexico, the relationship between ozone exposure in asthmatic children (5-13 years of age) and mild asthma was evaluated. Exposure to 0.050 ppm increased the occurrence of lower respiratory symptoms such as cough, phlegm and difficulty breathing, and reduced PEFRs. A different study suggests that 0.065 ppm ozone increases respiratory symptoms in asthmatic children. (5).
8 HOURS EXPOSURE. No information available.
24 HOURS EXPOSURE. Sartor and co-authors (1994) analyzed low levels of ozone and daily mortality in Belgium. This study demonstrated a relationship between 0.050 ppm ozone, high temperatures, and the number of daily deaths (9). An increase in elderly deaths with 0.034 ppm for 24-h was also observed (9, 11). Schwartz utilized Medicare records for the years 1986-1989 to study the association between ozone concentrations and respiratory admissions among elderly. In this study a significant relationship was observed between 0.050 ppm 24-h ozone concentration and hospital admission for pneumonia. (12).
Evidence also suggests ozone exposure lowers the body's defenses, increasing susceptibility to respiratory infections (24)(25).Used routinely in Europe for over 50 years.
Actually, for almost 100 years (since 1906), but who's counting? It has been used in the US almost as long, although not as widely.
Illegal in America.
Horse manure! That's going to come as a big surprise to the folks in Fargo, North Dakota, who use ozone in their water treatment plant.
Or the Colorado-based H2O Engineering" which manufacturers and domestically sells various kinds of ozone-treatment machines for water and food treatment.
The California-based Dime Water company does likewise.
The world's largest water-treatment plant (600 million gallons a day) to use Ozone for disinfection is in Los Angeles, which the last time I checked was still in America.
Want to buy an air purifier for your home that uses Ozone to help clean the air? Visit Janesco, Inc., or any of countless other ozone-generating air purifiers that are perfectly legal.
The only federal regulations regarding ozone air purifiers is that the EPA recommends that settings should be selected (by the user) so that the ozone level is less than 0.05 ppm.
There are other regulations concerning how much residual ozone is left in water after treatment is finished, but that's hardly the same thing as it being "illegal".
Whatever source you got that twaddle from, please do not consider it a reliable source in the future.
Finally, while ozone is a pretty good disinfectant for materials and surfaces where the ozone can be applied in controlled situations (i.e., in the tubes of a water treatment plant), it is *not* suitable for topical use on the skin or body or for internal use -- thus it is hardly any kind of substitute for antibiotics, which unlike ozone are able to target microbes without causing similar damage to human tissue (as ozone does). For that matter, use ozone as a disinfectant long enough and microbes will develop resistance to *it* as well (like corrosion-resist spore coats, etc.)
It's a "profit" thing.
Actually, it's a "baseless conspiracy urban legend" thing...