Are Ozone Machines Dangerous for Children?

• Ozone "air cleaners" literally produce ozone, which is made up of oxygen. However, unlike the oxygen we need to survive, ozone is toxic.
  
  High levels of ozone react with organic material--including your child's body. When ozone is inhaled, it can cause chest pain, shortness of breath and coughing. It also makes chronic illnesses such as asthma worse and can make it more difficult for the body to fight off respiratory infections. Even perfectly healthy children and adults can develop breathing problems when they inhale ozone, and long-term exposure may cause permanent damage. Babies and children are considered particularly vulnerable.
  
  

But isn't the Earth Protected by Ozone?

• Stratospheric ozone, or ozone found in the upper atmosphere, helps remove dangerous ultraviolet radiation produced by the sun. However, ozone in the air we breathe is harmful to humans.
  
  

EPA Approved?

• Although you'll find an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) number on some ozone generating "air cleaners," the EPA emphasizes these are only the agency's method of tracking manufacturing facilities. This number, the EPA says, "does not imply EPA endorsement or suggest in any way that EPA has found the product to be either safe or effective." Further, no government agency has approved ozone air cleaners for occupied spaces.
  
  

Aren't Ozone Machines Used Professionally?

• Sometimes ozone machines are used to help decontaminate buildings from certain chemicals, odors, or contaminants--for example, after a fire. However, humans must not be present and the EPA says studies must be conducted to look at the aftereffects of this sort of treatment.
  
  

Not Effective

• The EPA, Consumer Reports and a host of other government and consumer agencies also say many claims made by the manufacturers of ozone machines are false. For example, to remove certain chemicals from your child's room, an ozone machine would have to be used for months, even years. Ozone machines can actually increase the level of some chemicals in the air. They are also incapable of removing allergy particles, molds, bacteria, viruses or other biological organisms from a room.
  
  

What About Air Filters?

• The EPA and most allergy associations recommend air filtration systems to remove allergens, along with systematic cleaning and prevention of allergens entering the home. (Neither air filters nor ozone machines reduce the risks of secondhand smoke, however.)
  
  Many household items, including ceiling fans, computers, hair dryers, televisions, kitchen mixers--and air filters--have an ozone byproduct. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) keeps the allowable amount of this byproduct within safe levels. Ozone "air cleaners," however, don't have an ozone byproduct. They actually produce ozone in levels up to 10 times the CFR levels.