In studies conducted at the Academy of Medical Sciences in Russia, Dr. Gubernskii and Dr. Dmitriev found that 0.005ppm (parts per million) to 0.02 ppm of ozone added to normal indoor air (0 ppm) increased animals' resistance to the cold, to infection, to toxic substances, and to oxygen deprivation. A general increase in the immune "biological potential" and the vital capacity of the lungs was reported.
Dr. Gubernskii and Dr. Dmitriev also performed tests using less than .01 ppm of ozone in an air-conditioned office building, which revealed that "the levels of oxygen in the blood increase relatively quickly and remain at a high level for the duration of the experiment." They also stated that: "Atmospheric ozone has a positive effect on animals and people. It is important to note its positive effect on the breathing system, blood composition, arterial pressure, immune system, general feeling of well-being, and mental and physical work capability. The ozone-ion complex is a necessary component of fresh air that gives it a curative effect."
This same study, featured in the Russian journal Priroda, also reports a decrease in complaints of stuffiness (3.8 times fewer complaints).
Russian scientists performed a study to see how effective ozone was at improving indoor air quality in schools. Respiratory-related illnesses were drastically improved after the ozone systems were installed. The ozone concentration produced by the systems were 0.015 ppm (parts per million).
In testing performed by two scientists by the name of Elford and Van den Ende, it was found that ozone effectively destroyed bacteria at 0.04 ppm.
Many publications have published studies showing the effectiveness of lower concentrations ozone (0.01 to 0.03 ppm) at removing odors and pollutants. Some of these include the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES), U.S. Air Force technical publications, and Manufacturing Chemist.
OUR OZONE AIR PURIFIERS
Our OG-KIT and OG-3600 can be used as ozone air purifiers in homes over 1500 sq ft by placing the units near the air return and running the HVAC fan in the "ON" position (instead of AUTO) so that the fan filters the air in your home constantly. We are currently offering a free timer with the OG-3600. Simply set the time to turn on and off ever 30 minutes (on 30, off 30 during day or when nobody is home, off at night) and just enough ozone will be diluted throughout your home to create a .02-.04 ppm ozone level throughout your home during waking hours. If you want more control over the ozone concentration, say create a .01 ppm or less ozone level, you'll need to buy an $80 "repeat cycle timer". (search the Internet for that term). That device will allow you to run your ozone generator for x amount of seconds every x amount of minutes, then repeat indefinitely. To achieve .01 ppm you will have to experiment between 6 seconds on per minute and 20 seconds on per minute, depending on the size of your home of course.
OZONE IS SELF REGULATING
Our bodies are made to handle oxygen and ozone (3 oxygen atoms) in the blood, however, ozone in high concentrations is harsh on certain membranes (eyes, nose) and cillia (chest) to humans. All of the studies that show ozone is harmful to humans are done at ozone levels 10-80 times higher than the EPA safe exposure guideline of .05 ppm. No studies have ever shown any adverse effects from ozone at .01-.02 ppm, on the contrary, studies as the one above have shown health benefits. As with many things in life, the difference between a positive and negative result depends on the amount. Too much of a good thing can be harmful in many circumstances.
How do you know if the ozone concentration is getting too high and is above .05? Several ways. You can buy an ozone monitor that tells you the exact concentration of ozone in the air. These can be had for under $100 on ebay. Ozone however is "self regulating". Your body tells you when there's too much ozone in the air by causing your eyes to water, nose to itch, and most importantly, you'll start coughing. These are tell take signs that the ozone level is in the .15 to .3 range (3-6 times higher than the EPA guideline) and you should air out the room and turn off the ozone generator. We've never had anyone complain of our homes ozone level of .01 to .02 ppm over the past few years, on the contrary visitors often complement us on how nice and fresh the air smells in our home. Too much of a good thing however is often a bad thing, and we do not recommend breathing ozone above .04 ppm under any circumstances. Ozone is health promoting at lower levels and health robbing at higher levels, bottom line.
From our experience of breathing .01 to .02 ppm of ozone in our home for years, we can tell you that our kids have not caught colds as often as before we started with our "always on" fan and ozone generator and our indoor air quality has vastly improved. (less dust in the air also, we change our MERV 11 filters ever 3-4 weeks). Anyone who uses low levels of ozone to purify their indoor air will share similar stories. Again, ozone is health promoting and great for the air at lower concentrations and bad for health at higher concentrations. This does not apply to high levels of ozone being introduced intravenously of course for ozone therapy applications to kill cancer. In Germany, they treat cancer with ozone before going nuclear and killing everything in site, good or bad. Why? Ozone only kills the cancer cells and does not harm your other organs. The only reason this isn't practiced in the USA is that the drug companies can't profit from ozone therapy and they're the ones who control the politicians that write and enforce our laws, unfortunately.
On a side note, those who suffer from asthma or respiratory illness and have damaged lungs that can not even properly handle regular air should probably not try to breath anything above .01 ppm of ozone as a safety precaution. Anyone with lung issues should take the product Serrapeptase however as it does work wonders at restoring lung health. Go to http://www.serrapeptase.info/ for more info.
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