Ozone Toxicity

Excerpt

Ozone normally occurs in a gas state as three atoms of oxygen (O) linked in a cyclic structure and is a by-product of water purification, bleaching, and any process generating a spark or electric arc in the presence of oxygen. It is also found in the atmosphere, with higher altitudes containing higher levels of ozone. It is found in the stratosphere, where it absorbs various ultraviolet radiation. Ozone is also an environmental air pollutant, along with others, such as sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.

In spite of this, ozone can be generated by medical devices for therapeutic purposes. Potential medical applications of ozone therapy have a wide range, including 1) limiting postoperative pain after dental extraction when used as a gel, 2) repairing inner ear damage caused by acoustic trauma, 3) reducing coronary stent restenosis when applied as an auto-hem-transfusion, and 4) enhancing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus elimination in mediastinitis when used in conjunction with antibiotics.

Outside of medicine, ozone has been proposed for use in various settings, such as in the pretreatment of textile wastewater. While ozone can cause health troubles, it can also react with chemicals found in many products to lead to other potentially toxic substances, such as formaldehyde. Despite proponents for its use and its potential applications, toxicity can occur even at environmental levels and may be related to cardiac, respiratory, and neurologic events.

With the wide range of possible applications and toxicity that can occur at environmental levels from within a home, research on ozone use and toxicity is likely to increase in the future.