Air Ionizer and Effects of Ozone
Ozone in the upper atmosphere helps shield humans from harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. However, ozone near the ground level is an irritant and can aggravate asthma and decrease lung function. The federal Environmental Protection Agency of the US regulates only outdoor air. Hence, air purifiers are not required to meet ozone limits. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the US does not consider these to be medical devices, in spite of the health benefits that some ads for these devices simply. Air purifiers are often put through tests for confirmation to voluntary standard submitted to by manufacturers, which includes a test to check whether these produce more than 50 parts per billion (ppb) of ozone, the limit used by the FDA for medical devices.
As sales of ionising air cleaners increase, ozone from these devices is a greater concern. About one fourth of the total money spent on air cleaners is accounted for by that spent on Ionisers. According to experts, coughing, wheezing, and chest pain while worsening asthma and deadening the sense of smell can be caused by an ozone concentration of more than 80 ppb for eight hours or longer. It may also cause permanent lung damage and raises sensitivity to pollen, mould, and other respiratory allergy triggers.
Concerns have also been raised because of recent studies of ozone's cumulative effects. A clear link between small increases in ozone and higher death rates was established by a 14-year study of 95 urban areas in the US. The study attempted to examine days when outdoor ozone concentration was not in excess of the Environmental Protection Agency's 80-ppb standard over eight hours.
Ozone can create other pollutants in the process, while it dissipates indoors. Research has suggested that formaldehyde--a carcinogen--and other irritants are created when ozone reacts with the terpenes in lemon- and pine-scented cleaning products and air fresheners. Those by-products can be released over an extended time frame, after being absorbed by beds and carpets. Research has also found that additional ultra fine particles, which are hard to filter and can go deep into lungs, are created by the reaction of ozone with terpenes.
Ionisers create ozone and may pose risks is a fact that has been tacitly acknowledged by some manufacturers.
Ioniser
An ioniser is a part of the unit that release negative ions into the air. It is a collection of vibrating needles. These negative ions join with positively changed particles to form a larger particle, after coming into contact with small airborne particles. The unit in the air stream can then draw back this larger particle. The filter can then capture the particle. Different types of filters and other such technologies are usually combined with ionisers. A small charge is emitted to the air stream by ionisation units, as the air stream passes through the unit. The particles stick together and increase in size, due to the charge. The filter easily captures these larger particles.
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