Normally we're supposed to be concerned about
depleting ozone levels to the point where we inhabit one big sauna, but according to an investigative piece by the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), household air purifiers which
produce the gas as a byproduct may also pose a significant threat. Studies cited by the Journal suggest that both ozone generation as well as filtration models can emit dangerous levels of the reactive gas, which can be harmful either when inhaled directly or when combined with other common chemicals. While the CSPC is currently studying hard emissions caps to place on these products, California has already taken a first step by limiting purifier ozone output to 50 parts-per-billion starting in 2010. Meanwhile, executives from mall mainstay The Sharper Image are scrambling to discover another gimmicky product they can hang their hats on.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
John @ Jan 29th 2008 8:53AM
Haven't they been under fire for years now?
Anthony @ Jan 29th 2008 11:42AM
Yeah. That's why sharper image's new machine removes the ozone w/ a special filter attachment (though it still doesn't clean the air). This is years old news. I wonder why Engadget picked it up in the 1st place. Hardly even a "gadget".
Lars @ Jan 29th 2008 1:44PM
But there are huge holes in the Ozone layer, which we must plug up with more Ozone!
Timerider @ Jan 29th 2008 2:02PM
@Anthony:
Yeah, the new one's have a catalyst that breaks ozone into oxygen.
Timerider @ Jan 29th 2008 2:04PM
@Lars:
Low-level ozone doesn't rise up into the ozone layer and can be harmful to breath.
ChrisTots @ Jan 29th 2008 6:36PM
From 2005
http://www.engadget.com/2005/04/13/report-sharper-image-purifiers-actually-make-air-worse/
From 2006
http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/10/report-ionic-air-purifiers-create-cough-cough-smog/
friendlyner @ Jan 29th 2008 8:58AM
What's not to love about an air cleaner that doesn't clean anything, costs $300 or more, and pollutes your indoor air?
Andir3.0 @ Jan 29th 2008 10:08AM
Actually, they pull a ton of dust out of the air. I've had two of them for years now and you know when you clean off the bars and see all that black gross dust they collect. My electronics are also completely dust free. However, I haven't run them all the time since the ozone warnings, but I do fire them up on occasion to suck the dust out of the air.
CubeGuy @ Jan 29th 2008 11:52AM
Andir, you should be able to get that Ozone guard from the company for free. Give them a call.
wjousts @ Jan 29th 2008 9:07AM
"Normally we're supposed to be concerned about depleting ozone levels to the point where we inhabit one big sauna"
Please stop mixing up global warming with ozone depletion. They are two separate issues.
Spyvie @ Jan 29th 2008 10:48AM
I've been saying this for years, hardly anyone listens
jbs @ Jan 29th 2008 11:21AM
once again... Engadget showing their ignorant asses.
Is this blog run by college kids with pimples and podcasts??
kjb434 @ Jan 29th 2008 11:35AM
On top of that, both aren't problems at all!
The hole in the ozone grows and shrinks naturally regardless of what we do. In fact, the ozone layer needs the UV raise it protects us from to exist.
People need to read the science versus news articles (which are horrible in reporting any science).
Electromodo @ Jan 29th 2008 1:47PM
Guys, you mixed everything up. The major problem with those ionic purifiers is not global warming or the whole in the ozone layer. It is the OZONE THEY PRODUCE!
I am a chemist. For years I was suggesting all my friends NOT TO BUY those ionizers, especially for those who are smoking. Ozone is a very reactive gas, it produces free radicals when exposed to UV light, and it is harmful and it is pollutant.
I know there is a controversy and many specialists do not consider small amounts of ozone as harmful, but the truth is - you never know what other chemicals it will react with and how soon you organism will be harmed by it.
Seriously, think of your health, quit breathing ozone! This ban is good news for us all!
wjousts @ Jan 29th 2008 4:46PM
@Electromodo: How about that, I'm also a chemist.
But I wasn't commenting on the problem of these things producing ozone (which is a problem), but the problem of people mixing up global warming and ozone depletion. Both are major problems, but they are not the same thing. I think people got mixed up because CFCs are also greenhouse gases in addition to being ozone depleting.
brian @ Jan 29th 2008 5:11PM
I'm not a chemist but have watched plenty of movies about the subject to consider myself an expert.
This is a huge scientific break through, we need to buy the worlds supply of ionic breezes and hook them up on all the highest peaks in the world. Come on people lets join together to stop global warming in its tracks, if we all just love each other the world will enjoy perfect peace. Now thats an inconvenient truth!
Big Wizz @ Jan 29th 2008 9:10AM
I was as skeptical as the next person, but my wife (who suffers from respirtory problems) swears by them.
Gets rid of the "dog smell" too.
Alvin @ Jan 29th 2008 9:20AM
Seriously, I have one of these, and the collector plates are covered with dust every time I clean them - it doesn't exactly "do nothing". It is also much quieter (totally silent) compared to most air filters I've seen. It is especially useful when I have company over who smoke, afterward, the collector plates are covered in sticky tar that otherwise would have been in the air.
friendlyner @ Jan 29th 2008 3:26PM
My bookshelf is covered with dust every time I clean it. Does that make it an air cleaner?
Seriously, though, you have to have actual airflow to make any kind of a different. Ever feel what comes out of these on "high speed?"
Ever think how long it would take to change over the air in a room at that rate?
Don Corleone @ Jan 29th 2008 9:20AM
These purifiers get rid of odors and the air smells fresh, unlike the bilge outside my window. However, I have seen some units that overproduce ions (the air smells burnt) and that can't possibly be good for anything.
oshean @ Jan 29th 2008 10:30PM
I like the smell of air purifier produced ozone.
Dankoozy @ Jan 29th 2008 9:21AM
but its good for the ozone layer.
John Stracke @ Jan 29th 2008 9:59AM
"but its good for the ozone layer." -- No, it's not. Low-level ozone does not rise up to the ozone layer (probably because it's heavier than either oxygen or nitrogen, the main components of the atmosphere).
Maestro @ Jan 29th 2008 9:21AM
If you read consumer reports they have blasted these for years. Especially the sharper image models. I'm not sure about this but I think Sharper Image attempted to sue CU over the reports.
Quito @ Jan 29th 2008 10:14AM
I bought a Sharper Image ionic air filter about 4 years ago for about $300. At first, it seemed fine, worked silently and helped to remove smells and dust in the air. Then I started having problems with it, the thin metal wires that carried the current to charge up the air started getting soiled, they started to produce sparks and the only way to clean them was to take the whole thing apart. Then things just got worse, as I could often smell something funny in the air even though the air filter was thoroughly cleaned. Not only that, but I started to get throat irritations as well. After consulting with a friend that had bought the same model, I found out he was having the same problems. I then went online and low and behold, found quite a few others with the same quality problems and health issues.
I am no scientist, but from what I understood these machines produce way too much ion and this can cause short term and long term effects including permanent lung damage. Here is an interesting link from a few years ago, talking about Sharper Image and Consumer Reports.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7391185/
greg s. @ Jan 29th 2008 9:24AM
Ozone does not protect us from the sun's UV light. Mostly oxygen does. Ozone is the byproduct of that action. Anyone who says that ozone protects us from UV light hasn't a clue what ozone is or how it is formed.
Argot @ Jan 29th 2008 9:43AM
Oxygen gas (two molecules of oxygen, or O2) is present in the atmosphere. High energy UV light collides with the oxygen molecule, causing it to split into two oxygen atoms. These atoms are unstable, and they prefer being "bound" to something else. The free oxygen atoms then smash into other molecules of oxygen, forming ozone. What’s the overall reaction?
O1 (atom) + O2 (oxygen gas) -> O3 (ozone)
The ozone is destroyed in the very process that protects us from UV rays emitted by the sun. When ozone (O3) absorbs UV light, it will split the molecule into one free oxygen atom (O1) and one molecule of oxygen gas (O2).
O3 (ozone) -> O1 (atom) + O2 (oxygen gas)
Ozone is valuable to us because of the way it is destroyed – it absorbs UV radiation in the process. Even low-energy radiation can split ozone.
And then we add CFC's into the atmosphere:
The UV light in the stratosphere breaks up the CFCs. They release chlorine, and these free chlorine atoms rip oxygen atoms off of ozone, leaving ordinary oxygen gas.
Cl + O3 -> ClO + O2
Chlorine + Ozone -> chlorine monoxide +oxygen gas
This would not be a huge problem, except for one thing: chlorine monoxide will collide with free oxygen atoms (O1). This oxygen atom will break apart the chlorine monoxide, releasing the chlorine atom back into the stratosphere to degrade more ozone.
You really need to educate yourself.
P.s Thanks to aspire.cosmic-ray.org.
fistpittingnork @ Jan 29th 2008 9:35AM
I was given an Oreck XL air purifier (I'm severe asthmatic) and I notice the air smells cleaner (or shall I say more sterile?). I'm not sure if there's a difference in the air quality as I never turn it on because anything turned on above a whisper is too loud.
I personally think it's a load, at least with the purifier/ionizer I have.
syadasti @ Jan 29th 2008 9:42AM
Low level Ozone is call SMOG - its a harmful air pollutant.
Ozone in the upper atmosphere is the Ozone layer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone#Ozone_in_Earth.27s_atmosphere
Ion/Ozone generators are snake oil BS. Hospitals, clean room, industrial, and others use HEPA filters with activated carbon and/or UV treatment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HEPA
"The original HEPA filter was designed in the 1940s and was used in the Manhattan Project to prevent the spread of airborne radioactive contaminants. It was commercialised in the 1950s, and the original term became a registered trademark and a generic term for highly efficient filters. Over the decades filters have evolved to satisfy the higher and higher demands for air quality in various high technology industries, such as aerospace, pharmaceutical processing, hospitals, healthcare, nuclear fuels, nuclear power, and electronic microcircuitry (computer chips).
Today, a HEPA filter rating is applicable to any highly efficient air filter that can attain the same filter efficiency performance standards as a minimum and is equivalent to the more recent NIOSH N100 rating."
They have various cheap models you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes but I suggest this brand:
http://www.allerair.com/ - I got a 4000 Exec from Air Purifiers USA many years ago.
Maestro @ Jan 29th 2008 9:47AM
While that is technically true, it is the ozone LAYER that contains the O2 that protects us. The layer is a physical region with an upper and lower boundary. So it is correct to say that the Ozone layer protects us from UV. It would be incorrect to say that a layer of ozone protects us.
Jon Acheson @ Jan 29th 2008 10:02AM
I have a HEPA air filter I bought at Sears, it has done a pretty good job keeping my allergies down to the point where I don't need to take antihistamines.
Bear in mind, if you get a filter-based air cleaner, you will need to buy new first and second stage filters regularly. The nice thing about the Sears model is, I can get new filters at any Sears, and they still stock the filters for their older models.
CanCar @ Jan 29th 2008 10:34AM
I was investigating in Internet, and all the air purifiers do not specify that are ozone free. Although its serve us to removes contaminants from air of the office or the home, its function is not complete.
Michael @ Jan 29th 2008 2:16PM
There are Air Purifiers out there that maintain a safe, good amount of Ozone. You just really have to look around for products that are safe, and work. I have an Ultra-Pure Newport 9000- http://www.ultra-pureair.com/index.html
On the website if you look at the technology section they basically explain what it is, and how they're making it just as healthy as the outdoors.
"How does Activated Oxygen work? Activated Oxygen (ozone) is a form of oxygen with three oxygen atoms (O3). Generally only thought of as the naturally occurring gas in the Earth's stratosphere that shields the planet from harmful ultraviolet radiation, it is in fact also a very powerful chemical reactant that can be used to "oxidize," i.e., burn and ultimately destroy, other harmful airborne particles and pollutants. Ozone production is particularly effective against bacteria and mold as well as fighting odors. Better yet, in the process of destroying any dangerous particles in the air, the ozone loses one of its oxygen atoms leaving behind O2... the clean, pure oxygen we need to survive.
In healthy, clean outdoor environments, Activated Oxygen occurs between 0.02 ppm and 0.05 ppm (parts per million). Anything above 0.05 ppm is considered potentially harmful by the FDA and 0.10 by OSHA. However, it is very difficult (if not impossible) to adjust most ozone air purifiers to produce anywhere close to this amount of ozone.
Ultra-Pure™ Air Purifiers however maintain a very healthy ozone production level of 0.025 ppm but still manage to stay a full 50% below the FDA and 75% below the OSHA recommended maximums."
The air purifier I have really does help a lot. I have literally no dust in my room, so if I were to open the shades you literally see no dust in the air. After just cleaning it yesterday (I got it after christmas) there was so much friggen dust on the Washable filter. I also had crap in the HEPA filter too, so i'm really happy I have this thing. Time to time I do ventilate my room by opening up the windows for maybe an hour or two just so there's new air. But I feel a lot more healthier then I did before getting an air purifer. idk the air just smells good, I love just taking a deep breath time to time.. it just feels good lol. But I do notice a difference though even when i'm outside or another building/house.
I'm just saying that not all air purifiers are bs you just have to really find a good one (which means not always a commerical item) lol
syadasti @ Jan 29th 2008 8:38PM
Great marketing - "Our smog generator is less effective - buy ours!"
The thing cleaning your air is the HEPA filter - that is the de facto technology for hospitals, industrials, commercials, clean rooms, etc...
Iridium @ Jan 29th 2008 11:05AM
Well maybe if makers of HEPA air purifiers didn't run on the ink jet philosophy of give the cleaner away for nothing but make a killing on the filters, things would be different.
I bought a $49 HEPA purifier that needed $30 filters every 3 months. Sure the air is cleaner but it could only clean one small room and the cost of operation was way too high. Also it was nearly impossible to sleep due to the excessive noise.
I'd gladly pay $300 for a very good quality HEPA air purifier that runs quiet and has $5 replacement filters. Otherwise it isn't worth the money.
syadasti @ Jan 29th 2008 12:23PM
HEPA filters last around 3-7 years, so really they are nothing like inkjet cartridges.
You must be thinking of prefilters (some models have washable or vacuumable prefilters) or secondary systems like activated carbon filters (some better models are user refillable) or UV lights (burn out).
There is nothing unique to HEPA filtration vs. other system in regards to prefilters or secondary add on system maintenance.
dcartguy @ Jan 29th 2008 11:29AM
Sharper Image solved this problem 2 years ago! They added something called "ozone guard" to all of their air purifiers. It's a honeycomb screen with a coating that removes one of the oxygen ions from the ozone turning it back into plain old O2. These articles pop up just about every year but really it's nothing new at all.
PEZ @ Jan 29th 2008 11:58AM
Yay, one less pile of crap to woddle through at Sharper Image.
Patriks7 @ Jan 29th 2008 12:00PM
AirPod?
sinai @ Jan 29th 2008 12:43PM
it's 10 degrees below average temperatures in SF. i, for one, welcome our new warmer climate.
MB @ Jan 29th 2008 12:44PM
Absolutely bad stuff.
We once had a boss who bought five of these things for the office. Most eventually "disappeared," but the remaining one kept chugging away in a public hallway. I would unplug it only to find that it had been restarted by the following day. On and on, ad nauseum.
My final solution was to just clip the power cord flush with the case. End of story.
Other ozone vigilantes should consider similar extreme remedies.
Allen @ Jan 29th 2008 12:58PM
Wait, wouldn't this "replete" the ozone?
sid @ Jan 29th 2008 2:18PM
Many people who use alternative medicine consider moderate amounts of ozone a healing substance. If it irritates your lungs, that's an indication your lungs are toxic and the ozone is cleansing them. Ozone is used widely in business as a disinfectant. It is not a pollutant.
Rocketboy @ Jan 29th 2008 4:09PM
And many people in the 'alternative' therapy biz are frauds with no real medical background. The fact that you believe that it's a good thing to irritate your "toxic" lungs with Ozone is a glaring indication of that fact.
PS: What 'toxins' are in your lungs that are reacting to Ozone?
Steve @ Jan 29th 2008 4:22PM
a) Many people who use alternative medicine think vibrations from crystals can keep them healthy
b) Chlorine is widely used in business as a disinfectant, but I wouldn't want that spewing into my air. (with a few notable exceptions, things that tend to be bad for germs tend to be bad for people, as under a microscope we don't look all that different)
Feel free to breath all of the ozone you want, but do a little bit of research before you're blissful ignorance ends up harming others.
Matthew Nelson @ Jan 29th 2008 4:30PM
Sid, science does NOT back up any of what you said. READ about low level ozone.
TIMMAH! @ Jan 29th 2008 7:32PM
"That tingle means it's working!"
Hey has anyone used any of the airwashers from Venta or Air-o-swiss? Do they work well at all?
The air-o-swiss machines:
http://factorydirectsuperstore.com/airoswiss/1355.htm
Matthew Nelson @ Jan 29th 2008 4:29PM
I received one of the ozone guards. It only covers about 1/3 of the front of the air cleaner, meaning it can only "de-ozonate" no more than 1/3 of the air coming out. What's the deal with that?!
Matthew Nelson @ Jan 29th 2008 4:30PM
The "Ozone Guard" covers only about 1/3 of the air cleaner output grid. How can that be effective?
jamesFF @ Jan 30th 2008 1:26AM
I always get a headache when one of these are running.