Artificial ozone

1993/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ingurumena

In recent years the ozone hole has become a source of troubling information. Here we are not talking about the ozone hole, but about the surface ozone.

Ozone generated on the earth's surface as a result of pollution has caused health problems in humans on several occasions. If you have copiers or laser printers in your office, you should know that ozone is generated from the operation of these machines.

This ozone can cause irritation of the eyes and airways, headache, and vomiting. Ozone occurs only during machine printing, but the concentration may be sufficient for these effects to occur.

To reduce ozone emissions a filter is placed on machines, but in most cases, especially when the machine is old, the importance of this filter is not mentioned in the machine manual. These filters have a limited duration and as they are used lose the absorption capacity of ozone. Manufacturers define filter life based on copies. In general, the number of copies varies between 10,000 and 40,000 depending on the type and size of the machine.

Although the filter works properly, as it ages, an accumulation of ozone can occur that produces irritations. In addition, the filter capacity decreases with tobacco smoke and certain particles in the air. The average ozone life in the atmosphere of a normal office is five minutes. However, the decomposition speed of ozone depends on temperature, humidity and ventilation.

Therefore, experts advise on: On the one hand, it is necessary to know the ozone levels of emissions to the machines in order to be able to place the necessary filter, at the same time that a thorough control of the filter is carried out. On the other hand, ozone generating machines will be located in places with a volume exceeding 25 cubic meters and every two hours the air of the stay will be renewed. Finally, if someone has a high sensitivity, they will move their workplace to a place away from the machines.