RE: Ozone generators - NOT FOR USE AROUND ANIMALS, PLANTS OR HUMANS
 
Ozone generators have been promoted to ferret folks and other animal
people for more than a decade.  The devices are touted to kill microbes
(bacteria, viruses), to reduce odors and to "condition" the air.  I am
adding the following comments to emphasize the health risks involved,
as well described by others on the Ferret Mailing List:
 
Ozone generators should NEVER be used around living plants, animals or
people.  Ozone is toxic to tissue, even at relatively low levels.  To
date no ozone generator has been approved by the Food and Drug
Administration for any medical use.
 
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION TAKES ACTION:
 
The FDA has pursued those individuals making false and misleading claims
about ozone generators regarding their medical uses and capabilities.
The following is an excerpt from the FDA CONSUMER magazine:
___________________________
 
"Ozone Generators Generate Prison Terms for Couple"
by Paula Kurtzweil
 
"Show us the data," FDA advised a Florida man and his wife who continued
to market an unapproved medical device despite FDA warnings to stop.  So,
when they failed to heed FDA's advice, a federal judge in Florida decided
to show them the door--to prison.
 
Kenneth R.  Thiefault and his wife, Mardel Barber, formerly of Jupiter,
Fla., were sentenced in the U.S.  District Court for the Southern
District of Florida in March to prison terms that together total more
than eight years and fines that add up to more than $100,000.  They
illegally distributed ozone generators, devices that turn oxygen into
ozone, by claiming that the devices could cure a variety of diseases,
including cancer and AIDS.  FDA has never approved ozone generators or
ozone gas for treating any medical conditions.......
 
Proponents of medical ozone generators believe ozone can kill viruses and
bacteria in the body.  While ozone is used as a germicide in the cleaning
of manufacturing equipment, FDA is not aware of any scientific data that
supports the safety or effectiveness of ozone generators for treating
medical conditions.  In fact, the agency believes that at the levels
needed to work effectively as a germicide, ozone could be detrimental to
human health.
 
"These devices keep popping up," says Bob Gatling, a biomedical engineer
and director of the program operations staff in FDA's Center for Devices
and Radiological Health.  "We always tell their makers": 'Show us some
data,' but no one ever pursues it."
 
    ________________________________________________________________
                 FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION TAKES ACTION:
 
"Alpine Industries Ordered to Stop Unsubstantiated Claims for Ozone
Generators"
 
Alpine Industries, of Greeneville Tennessee, manufactures various
consumer and commercial products and markets them through independent
distributors.  Its best known products are air-purification devices --
ozone generators that circulate room air through an electrically charged
plate...... In January 2000, a federal court ordered the company to stop
making health claims for its ozone generators.  In April 2001, the judge
assessed a civil penalty of $1.49 million plus costs and interest against
Alpine Industries and its president William J.  Converse.  The court also
entered an injunction barring Alpine and Converse from making any claims
that the "air purifiers" sold by the company remove any indoor air
pollutant, except for "visible" tobacco smoke and some odors.  It also
cautioned the defendants that they cannot represent that these claims
mean that the devices actually remove chemicals, particles, or
microorganisms from indoor air.  Finally, the court barred the defendants
from claiming that their products prevent, or provide relief from,
medical conditions of any kind or that sensors in the machines control
the ozone levels in indoor spaces........
 
__________________________________________________________________
 
Besides the excellent information presented by other responders on the
FML, one of the best SUMMARY articles I have located on the issue can be
found at the following website:
 
<http://www.healthgoods.com/Education/Healthy_Home_Information/
Indoor_Air_Quality/ozone_generators.htm>
 
FAH
 
Freddie Ann Hoffman, MD
HeteroGeneity, LLC
5611 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC  20011
Tel.: 202-545-6843
Fax:  202-545-6844
[log in to unmask]
www.heterogeneity-LLC.com
[Posted in FML issue 5108]