Being in the natural health industry has yet again helped me out immensely and today I can share another personal health story with you. This time it has to do with ozone.
At my office we were preparing large packages of printed material for a big mail out. We decided to do the print job in house on our hi-tech colour copier. The job was huge and the printer was running for about five hours solid. Since my office is across the hall, I went in to replenish the paper every 10 minutes… that’s 30 times over a span of five hours. It was halfway through the print job when I began experiencing a headache, nausea, shortness of breath, fatigue, sore throat and burning eyes. I figured it was the toner and asked the office assistant to call the copier company to see if there was any way it could be the toner. She called them and verified that it was not the toner because we used non-toxic ink but they suggested that the culprit might be ozone. Ozone??? I thought that was supposed to be good for us? And so my quest for information on ozone began.
Essentially, ozone (O3) is an unstable and highly reactive form of oxygen. The ozone molecule is made up of three oxygen atoms that are bound together, whereas the oxygen we breathe (O2) contains only two oxygen atoms. From a human perspective, ozone is both helpful and harmful.
Small concentrations of ozone occur naturally in the stratosphere, which is part of the Earth’s upper atmosphere. At that level, ozone helps to protect life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet radiation from the sun, particularly UVB radiation that can cause skin cancer and cataracts, damage crops and destroy some types of marine life.
Ozone is also found much nearer to the ground, in the troposphere, which is the lowest level of Earth’s atmosphere. Unlike the ozone that occurs naturally in the stratosphere, tropospheric ozone is man-made and is an indirect result of air pollution created by automobile exhaust and emissions from factories and power plants.
The man-made ozone that forms in the troposphere is extremely toxic and corrosive. People who inhale ozone during repeated exposure may permanently damage their lungs or suffer from respiratory infections. Ozone exposure may reduce lung function or aggravate existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, emphysema or bronchitis. It may also cause chest pain, coughing, throat irritation or congestion.
In my case, ozone was formed during the photocopying process. Ozone is produced by the operation of high voltage equipment such as photocopiers, x-ray equipment and electric arc welding. It is reactive, unstable and has a half-life of six minutes in office environments. It is a highly toxic gas and is the most serious health risk from photocopiers. Ozone has a sweet smell which can normally be detected at concentrations of 0.01 to 0.02 parts per million (ppm).
When photocopying, the majority of ozone is produced during the charging and discharging of the drum and paper — it is the breakdown product of the drum material during image transfer. Ozone is also produced by ultraviolet emission from the photocopier lamp.
As ozone usually rapidly decomposes back to oxygen, the normal concentration of ozone around photocopiers is not sufficient to cause symptoms. The rate of decomposition is dependent on time, temperature (the gas breaks down more rapidly at high temperatures) and contact with various surfaces. However, ozone concentration can build up if the room has insufficient ventilation. If ozone concentration reaches 0.25 ppm or above, this odorous gas can cause irritation to the eyes, the upper respiratory tract, and the lungs, throat and nasal passages. Other symptoms include headache, shortness of breath, dizziness, general fatigue and temporary loss of olfactory sensation. Hmmm, all of my symptoms exactly. A level of 10 ppm is immediately dangerous to life and health.
Prolonged inhalation of ozone levels of a few parts per million is known to damage the lungs. Some authorities suggest that a concentration of 0.1 ppm might have the effect of causing premature ageing and a shortened life span.
So with all of this information and a healthy dose of fear, I took action. I went to my naturopath as well as a walk in clinic who confirmed that my symptoms were likely related to ozone exposure and I got chest x-rays, blood work, and had a pulmonary test done. I am currently awaiting the results but in the meantime I have been proactive by working from home and taking a great product from Renew Life called Total Lung Therapy. Total Lung Therapy is formulated to cleanse the respiratory tract and provide total support for the respiratory system. It has a powerful healing and therapeutic formula to aid people with chronic lung ailments like asthma and is ideal for those who are simply looking to ensure optimal respiratory health. It has helped my symptoms of a shortened breath and coughing and I will stay on it indefinitely.
I have also informed my boss and our Health and Safety Committee. They are doing renovations to improve the ventilation system and are working with Xerox to check the ozone filters on a regular basis.
One of my favourite sayings has always been “You don’t know what you don’t know” and in this case I didn’t know there was such a thing as dangerous ozone and how damaging it could be. On the one hand it has been a scary experience for me but on the other hand I feel blessed that I went through this ordeal. It has opened my eyes and I can now share my story with other people who may benefit from my experience.
Sources
Ozone: The Good and Bad of Ozone "http://environment.about.com/od/ozonedepletion/a/whatisozone.htm" http://environment.about.com/od/ozonedepletion/a/whatisozone.htm – Accessed 2 Dec 10
Fact Sheet oh Photocopiers "http://www.workershealth.com.au/facts011.html" – Accessed 2 Dec 2010
