Ozone generators

Rosalie Scott <rosalie_scott [at] gov__nt__ca> writes

>An individual has contacted me who has had a house fire and is
>dealing with a disaster recovery company. The company is pushing the
>use of an ozone generator to eliminate the smoke smell. She is
>particularly concerned about her antique furniture

Ozone is a toxic gas; its use should be confirmed to official
standard. The Occupational Safety and Health administration (OSHA)
required that workers not to be exposed to an average concentration
of more than 0.10 ppm for 8 hours.  The national Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends an upper limit of
0.10 ppm, not to be exceeded at any time. At low concentration safe
limit, ozone has no effect or is not efficient to remove odors or
gaseous materials. Because of the documented negative health impact
of ozone, especially for persons with asthma, and the lake of
evidence for its ability, at low concentrations to clean the air The
American Lung Association suggests that ozone generators not be
used:

    (<URL:http://www.lungusa.org/site/apps/s/
        content.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=34706&ct=67087>).

    **** Moderator's comments: The above URL has been wrapped for
    email. There should be no newline.

In addition ozone is highly reactive agent and can be reacted with
all organic library and museum materials to destroy them. This is
one other reason that this kind of suggested air cleaner is not
recommended to be used.

The air cleaned recommended for this case is high surface filters
with absorbent materials like activated carbons. For more
information please refer to <URL:http://www.library-dust.com>.

Hassan Bolourchi, Chemical engineer, Ph D,
Manager
Library Dust Consulting, LLC
964 N Adams #5
Birmingham MI 48009, USA
1-248-258 67 21


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:17
                 Distributed: Thursday, October 7, 2004
                       Message Id: cdl-18-17-006
                                  ***