Right, but only a little bit in occupied spaces is safe. Takes a lot to oxidize stable compounds.
Comment on Ultraviolet light can kill almost all the viruses in a room. Why isn’t it everywhere?
BakerBagel@midwest.social 8 months agoBecause people are morons who will snort straight asbestos because some quack said it is healthy for them.
Ozone is super unstable and will oxidize most organic compounds. It’s great in the upper atmosphere where it absorbs deadly UV rays, but it is super dangerous to be inhaling regularly.
JustZ@lemmy.world 8 months ago
BakerBagel@midwest.social 8 months ago
It forms radicals which will self perpetuate. A machine constantly putting out even small quantities of ozone is going to fuck you up sooner rather than later.
JustZ@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I run the ozone machine for a half hour or an hour here and there, when nobody is around, and in spaces that are well ventilated afterward. What sort of radicals?
BakerBagel@midwest.social 8 months ago
Radicals are atoms with a missing electron. Since most chemical reactions use pairs of electrons. Free radicals are atoms, typically oxygen, that have this missing electron. They are super reactive and will steal an electron from the first atom or molecule they can. That atom/molecule then goes and repeats the process, creating a chain of radicals that can mess up your tissues. Typically our body uses anti-oxidants to halt radical chains, but it is very intense and can only be done so much. That ozone machine has no benefits and loads of potential drawbacks.
Cihta@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Can you elaborate a little more? I used to have an ozone generator but, and it’s been a long time, it seemed that at useful levels it would be dangerous but what are “small quantities”? I have however found them useful to be used at high power for a short time to clear a car or house of smoke of pet odor (unoccupied of course).
I use the pool ones to keep water tanks sterile with an ORP meter for control and that seems to work well but it is extremely corrosive. It breaks down really fast though so I don’t think it’s causing any harm… Is it?
BakerBagel@midwest.social 8 months ago
The EPA is pretty adamant that there are no health benefits to ozone machines, and plenty of potential drawbacks. . Ozone breaks down fast because it is highly volatile and is just ask likely to react with tissues in your lungs as whatever you want to clean out of the air.
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 8 months ago
So then it’s perfect in homes where we are using bulbs that output deadly UV rays!