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CARB Bans Ozone Generators |
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Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
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The state has banned widely used indoor ozone
air purifiers, saying the devices aggravate many of the problems their
advertisements claim to relieve. The California Air Resources Board called the ban, enacted Thursday, the
first of its kind in the nation. According to the air board, some
manufacturers of ozone generators have argued that ozone has the ability to
reduce levels of indoor air pollutants, and recent research has shown that the
opposite is true. The new regulations, which take effect in 2009, ban the sale
of devices that produce more than .050 parts per million of ozone, a
concentration the board says is enough to harm human health. The board estimated that about
500,000 Californians had been exposed to excessive levels of ozone because of
the devices. Mary Nichols, chair of the Air Resources Board, said in a statement on the ban:
"People with respiratory problems need to be protected from ozone.
Consumers bought these devices hoping to reduce suffering for themselves or a
loved one, only to make the situation worse."
Ozone, the primary component in smog, is produced intentionally by some air
purifiers, and is produced as a byproduct of electronics in others. Michael T. Kleinman, a professor of
Environmental Medicine at the University
of California at Irvine, supports the board's actions,
"Ozone is associated with human deaths. It can cause irreversible changes
such as fibrosis-like stiffening of the lung. In my opinion, the use of an ozone-generating device as an
indoor air cleaner is dangerous, especially if occupants already have lung or
heart diseases, or are elderly." The new CARB regulation also
requires all air cleaners pass an electrical safety test to prevent fire
hazards. Any air cleaning device designed for use in a single room, a whole
house, an entire floor in a multi-story commercial building, inside cars, as
well as "personal air purifiers" worn around an individual's neck is
subject to this regulation. The Sacramento Bee contributed to this
story.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 October 2007 )
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