By using ozone as a disinfectant, a real health risk exists if you use the ozone machine without precautions. In fact, exposure to certain ozone concentrations can cause health problems for workers, or for people in a poorly ventilated area where the area was treated. This blog post covers some notable dangers associated with ozone treatment and how you can deal with such dangers.

Ozone exposure mostly affects the respiratory tract, but it can also cause irritation of the skin, mucous membranes, and eyes, as well as cause pulmonary edema and damage to the respiratory system.

After being exposed to high levels of chlorine dioxide, people may experience shortness of breath, coughing, dyspnea, chest pain, and bronchial hypersecretion for about 48 hours after the exposure to ozone. At a concentration of 5 ppm, trioxygen in ambient air is immediately hazardous.

Furthermore, chronic exposure to ozone during the treatment processes can affect the neurological system (neuromuscular impairment, headaches, memory problems,) and produce harmful respiratory effects (dyspnea, atrophy of alveolar walls, bronchopathies, fibrosis).

Protective Equipment For Ozone Treatment

It is important that people performing ozone cleaning maintain adequate protective gear, such as respiratory protection and an ozone detector, to prevent chronic exposure to particularly dangerous concentrations of ozone.

Ozone Respiratory Protection

Wearing a respiratory protection mask while performing ozone cleaning can help workers remain safe when they are exposed to polluted air.

To prevent eye irritation, it is recommended to use a full-face gas mask that covers the entire face. Full-face gas masks offer you protection against organic/inorganic, and acid gases and vapors, ammonia and its various derivatives, compounds and the derivatives of mercury, carbon monoxide, microorganisms, radioactive, and toxic liquids.

The use of gas masks provides a certain level of protection to workers carrying out ozone treatment procedures. Nevertheless, it should be noted that ozone, due to its corrosive and oxidizing properties, can react with the activated carbon and hopcalite that make up the filtering medium in gas mask cartridges.

As a result of contact with ozone and these components, the filter capacity is reduced faster than expected. Therefore, a respiratory protection filter cartridge needs to be changed more frequently during ozone cleanings because of its quicker breakdown time.

Ozone Gas Detector

Humans are capable of sensing the ozone odor. However, in some cases, human smell cannot replace an accurate measurement of the concentration of gases in an enclosed environment. It is therefore essential to possess equipment capable of precisely measuring trioxygen concentrations in the air during all phases of ozone cleaning in order to protect workers’ health.

 We recommend using a simple, portable gas detector. By carrying the gas detector with the person doing ozone treatment, they will be alerted when the gas concentration reaches the dangerous level.

Learn more about safety of ozone generator here.