| WIKI | FAQ | Tech FAQ | |
 http://csua.com/feed/ | |
| ||||||
| 11/22 |
| 2005/4/14-15 [Science/GlobalWarming] UID:37187 Activity:moderate |
4/14 Sharper Image Ionizer IS bad for you, see Consumer Reports and here:
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000477039973
http://www.mediabaron.com/test/fade_test.jpg
\_ What, aside from not working?
\_ The fact that sharper image releases ozone has been known for
years. The fact that it causes more problems for some with
asthma has also been known for a while. It really is nothing
new. But it looks like not every asthmatic people have problems
with it. There are many asthmatic people on-line that swear by it.
Sharper Image even mentions the release of ozone on their site,
though they claim that it is in perfectly safe amount. Supposedly,
it's the ozone that actually makes the room smell "fresher." I've
read many newsgroup articles before deciding to buy it. I
personally didn't like the ozone smell at first but got used to it.
What I do know is that I'm not kept awake at night due to allergies
anymore, and I don't get annoyed by the noise my old air filter
used to make. - happy Ionic Breeze owner
\_ Ozone generation is often used as a deoderizer, but it's highly
destructive to live cells, and I think a carcinogen (not sure
on that)
\_ Do you look more and more like Michael Jackson each day?
\_ So you're accepting testimonials over science? Would you like
your palm read?
\_ Praise the Holy Ionizer!
\_ I've always under the impression that the whole purpose of those
ionizers are to generate ozone in your room, rather than ozone
being a side-effect.
\_ Those devices exist too, but they're much worse than what
Sharper Image is selling.
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html
\_ Thx! |
| 11/22 |
|
| www.engadget.com/entry/1234000477039973 With the companys lawsuit against Consumer Reports thrown out by the courts, the purveyor of overpriced and uninspired gear now faces ne w charges related to the same product that led to the suit in the first place: its Ionic Breeze air purifiers. And this time, its not just that the Breeze doesnt work, as CR charged in 2003. The magazines latest s tudy charges that the units actually make air quality worse, by releasin g excess ozone into the air something that can cause serious respirato ry problems, especially for asthmatics or other people with breathing co ncerns (who, not incidentally, are among the biggest purchasers of air p urifiers). Not surprisingly, Sharper Images stock has plummeted, and it released a statement calling the report an unfair assault. Meanwhile, we imagine the company is desperately retooling to come up with another hit product, and that well see their ever-popular electric nose-hair t rimmer on the cover of their next catalog. Add your comments) Reader Comments 1 Posted Apr 13, 2005, 8:38 AM ET by Chris I never bought one of these because of the insane price. I always enjoyed standing in front of them at the sharper image stores though. I bet now I can get one at a resonably significant discount. Their problem, I am guessing, is that everyone who has an Ionic Breeze LO VES it. Everyone I know who doesn't have one is skeptical - everyone I know who h as one thinks it is fantastic. School I can't wait until the ionic noise hair breeze trimmer comes out. Relatively low amounts can ca use chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath, and, throat irritation. O zone may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and com promise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections." I read the CR report that originally bashed the ionic breeze a few years back. The article didn't show some sort of bias against the IB, it jus t showed that it flat out doesn't purify the air even close to as well a s other purifiers on the market. Doesn't mean that some purification dir ectly around the unit didn't occur, but it certainly wasn't purifying a whole house, or even a big room. The Ionic Breeze is a joke, and everyone who dropped all those benjamins to get one have been seriously duped. Shortly after I found out t hat the IB released Ozone as a biproduct I was near a Sharper Image, I w ent in to inquire. me: I have a question about the IB SI: Yes, they are one of our highest selling products. SI: well sir, any device that ionizes air has some Ozone as a biproduct. me: are you aware that it's deadly to humans and is highly corrosive. SI: well, all devices like that produce Ozone to some extent. me: are you aware your device can be deadly in small confined spaces? SI: Any device will produce Ozone if it ionizes the air. Deadpan Wasn't this stuff revealed to be dangerous YEARS ago? Sharper Image has had ionic devices back in the early 9 0s. I remember looking at them and and like Deadpan said, it was reveale d many, MANY, years ago that it has the mentioned side effect. Posted Apr 13, 2005, 10:33 AM ET by gt is that what that black stuff is on the metal cartridge thingies? the met al having corroded and turning black, rather than "impurities from the a ir"? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires ozone output of indoor me dical devices to be no more than 005 ppm. Underwriters Laboratory's UL Standard 867 2 requires ozone output of hous ehold electrostatic air cleaners to be no more than 005 ppm." How much ozone comes from the Ionic Breeze: A The Sharper Image strictly controls emissions of ozone from its Ionic Breeze products. Ionic Breeze air purifiers create trace levels of ozone as a by-product of their electrostatic technology that circulates air e lectronically. They are tested and conform to the UL Standard 867, which requires that output of ozone be less than 005 ppm (also shown as 50 p pb, or 50 parts per billion). This is within or less than the ozone leve l allowed by the FDA, OSHA, NIOSH and EPA's standards. Since the odor de tection level of ozone is very low, an odor of ozone may be easily perce ived, even though levels are well within acceptable limits." The FDA and UL's levels are acceptable for huma ns, what about pets? That's akin to saying "hey, this broken gas heater does a great job of heating up my office, i'll just have to deal with the ex cess CO gas it produces." God forbid that a magazine called "Consumer Re ports" should say anything bad about a bad product that does the opposit e of what it's trying to accomplish. I'd like to know what thorough scie ntific tests you conducted to trump CR's findings. Posted Apr 13, 2005, 11:13 AM ET by jen all i can say for the ionic breeze is that it did remove the smell of cig arettes from a friend's new apartment (after he'd tried candles, febreez e, open windows, the whole deal - couldn't wash the ceiling as they were like 12+ feet up) - how that worked i have no idea, but i also doubt th e amount of ozone this thing produces isn't enough to do any real damage (shit, isn't car and truck pollution 10000x worse? Mark J The thing is: ozone doesn't bother me, but pollen does. The Ionic Breeze fixed my recurrent allergy problems, and it does a nice job of getting a ll that cat hair and dander that floats around. Posted Apr 13, 2005, 11:42 AM ET by gorkon Whatever happened to the Cool High Tech products Sharper Image sold? I re member when you could by the first Palm Sized PC's there (WinCE with cla mshell keyboard) and many other HIGH tech stuff. Last time I went in our s, right before it closed, they were a complete and not as good ripoff o f Brookstone. I remember a time when there were NO healthcare or hygiene products therere. Posted Apr 13, 2005, 11:57 AM ET by tpp New York State (or City, I forgot) was handing these out, for free, as so me sort of air quality improvement campaign about 18 months ago. All you had to do is to fill up a form, send it in, and a nice delivery person would bring one at your home a month or so later. My wife filled the form and we've had one of those things sitting in our living room for more than a year. We never got to fill any surveys about how our quality of life had improv ed because of this wonderful gadget, nor were we given any devices to ac tually monitor the air quality in our apartment. Whoever the sales person from Sharper Image was that sold the concept and the gadgets to New York has to be a pretty happy camper right about now . Posted Apr 13, 2005, 12:35 PM ET by Duke What's wrong with you people claiming that the article says the IB, and o ther ionizers, don't work. As for people saying that the IB, or other ionizer is great, well how dum b can YOU be? Jesus, yes it works to some extent, but are you to daft to see the possible problems this article should trigger for you? I find it odd that CR would fail the IB for their room test, when it came in BELOW the federal standard they were using as a pass/fail point. Ok, 48 ppb is pretty damn close to 50 ppb, but it technically passed. What the article fails to mention is the dimensions of the room and exact ventalation. And obviously, if you have m ultiple IB's you are definitely over the Federal limit in that room. The article also doesn't take the further step to criticize the governmen t SI had to get a patent for this, no? Why are ozone emitting devices n ot governed if they are do hazardous? At the very least, SI and other resellers, should be required by federal law to note the possible dangers due to multiple units, inadequate venta lation, and room size. Posted Apr 13, 2005, 12:47 PM ET by Griffon We own two of of them for our bedrooms. WHen it's on a sleep better and w ake up with out allergy congestion, when it's not I wake up feeling like a truck rolled over me.... Straw man sample but it's doing something an d it's good for me, perceptible so. Long term is it killing me quicker t hen cigarettes would (I don't smoke) sounds like there might be some rea son to be wary but I still rather sleep without allergies. Posted Apr 13, 2005, 2:06 PM ET by Spyvie Incidently, any device that produces an electrical arc or spark produces ozone. Electric mo... |
| www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html "Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners: An Assessment of Effectiveness and Health Consequences" There is a large body of written material on ozone and the use of ozone i ndoors. However, much of this material makes claims or draws conclusions without substantiation and sound science. In developing Ozone Generator s that are Sold as Air Cleaners, the EPA reviewed a wide assortment of t his literature, including information provided by a leading manufacturer of ozone generating devices. In keeping with EPA's policy of insuring t hat the information it provides is based on sound science, only peer rev iewed, scientifically supported findings and conclusions were relied upo n in developing this document. Several brands of ozone generators have EPA establishment number on their packaging. This number helps EPA identify the specific facility that p roduces the product. THE DISPLAY OF THIS NUMBER DOES NOT IMPLY EPA ENDO RSEMENT OR SUGGEST IN ANY WAY THAT EPA HAS FOUND THE PRODUCT TO BE EITHE R SAFE OR EFFECTIVE. The Agency does not recommend air cleaning devices or manufacturers. "Residential Air Cleaning Devices: A Summary of Available Information " Introduction and Purpose Ozone generators that are sold as air cleaners intentionally produce the gas ozone. Often the vendors of ozone generators make statements and d istribute material that lead the public to believe that these devices a re always safe and effective in controlling indoor air pollution. For a lmost a century, health professionals have refuted these claims (Sawyer , et. The purpose of this document is to provide accu rate information regarding the use of ozone-generating devices in indoo r occupied spaces. This information is based on the most credible scien tific evidence currently available. Some vendors suggest that these devices have been approved by the federa l government for use in occupied spaces. To the contrary, NO agency of the federal government has approved these devices for use in occupied s paces. Because of these claims, and because ozone can cause health prob lems at high concentrations, several federal government agencies have w orked in consultation with the US Environmental Protection Agency to produce this public information document. Two atoms of oxyg en form the basic oxygen molecule--the oxygen we breathe that is essent ial to life. The third oxygen atom can detach from the ozone molecule, and re-attach to molecules of other substances, thereby altering their chemical composition. It is this ability to react with other substances that forms the basis of manufacturers claims. The same chemical properties that allow high concentrations of ozone to react with organic material outside the body give it the ability to rea ct with similar organic material that makes up the body, and potentiall y cause harmful health consequences. Relatively low amounts can cause chest pain, coughing, shortnes s of breath, and, throat irritation. Ozone may also worsen chronic resp iratory diseases such as asthma and compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections. Healthy people, as well as those with respiratory diffic ulty, can experience breathing problems when exposed to ozone. Exercise during exposure to ozone causes a greater amount of ozone to be inhale d, and increases the risk of harmful respiratory effects. Recovery from the harmful effects can occur following short-term exposure to low lev els of ozone, but health effects may become more damaging and recovery less certain at higher levels or from longer exposures (US EPA, 1996a, 1996b). EPA's Final Non-attainment Designations for 8-Hour Ozone On April 15, 2004 EPA designated as "non-attainment" areas throughout the country that exceeded the health-based standards for 8-hour ozone. The designations process plays an important role in letting the public know whether air quality in a given area is healthy. Once designations take effect, they also become an important component of state, tribal and loc al governments' efforts to control ground-level ozone. gov/ozonedesignations/ Manufacturers and vendors of ozone devices often use misleading terms to describe ozone. Terms such as "energized oxygen" or "pure air" suggest that ozone is a healthy kind of oxygen. Ozone is a toxic gas with vast ly different chemical and toxicological properties from oxygen. Several federal agencies have established health standards or recommendations to limit human exposure to ozone. These exposure limits are summarized in Table 1 Table 1 Ozone Heath Effects and Standards Health Effects Risk Factors Health Standards* Potential risk of experiencing: Decreases in lung function Aggravation of asthma Throat irritation and cough Chest pain and shortness of breath Inflammation of lung tissue Higher susceptibility to respiratory infection Factors expected to increa se risk and severity of health effects are: Increase in ozone air concentration Greater duration of exposure for some health effects Activities that raise the breathing rate (eg, exercise) Certain pre-existing lung diseases (eg, asthma) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires ozone output of indoor me dical devices to be no more than 005 ppm. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that wo rkers not be exposed to an average concentration of more than 010 ppm f or 8 hours. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommen ds an upper limit of 010 ppm, not to be exceeded at any time. "good up high - bad nearby" has been used by the US Env ironmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make the distinction between ozon e in the upper and lower atmosphere. Ozone in the upper atmosphere--ref erred to as "stratospheric ozone"--helps filter out damaging ultraviole t radiation from the sun. Though ozone in the stratosphere is protectiv e, ozone in the atmosphere - which is the air we breathe - can be harmf ul to the respiratory system. Harmful levels of ozone can be produced b y the interaction of sunlight with certain chemicals emitted to the env ironment (eg, automobile emissions and chemical emissions of industri al plants). These harmful concentrations of ozone in the atmosphere are often accompanied by high concentrations of other pollutants, includin g nitrogen dioxide, fine particles, and hydrocarbons. Whether pure or m ixed with other chemicals, ozone can be harmful to health. Go to top Are Ozone Generators Effective in Controlling Indoor Air Pollution? Available scientific evidence shows that at concentrations that do not ex ceed public health standards, ozone has little potential to remove indoo r air contaminants. Some manufacturers or vendors suggest that ozone will render almost ever y chemical contaminant harmless by producing a chemical reaction whose only by-products are carbon dioxide, oxygen and water. For all practical purposes, ozone does not react at all with such chemicals. And contrary to specific claims by some vendors, ozone generators are not effective in removing carbon monoxide (Salls, 1927; For example, in a laboratory experiment that mixed ozone with chemicals from new carpet, ozone reduced many of these chemicals, including those which can produce new carpet odor. However, in the process, the reaction produced a variety of aldehydes, and the total concentration of organic chemicals in the air increased rather than decreased after the introduction of ozone (Weschler, et. In addition to aldehydes, ozone may also increase indoor concentrations of formic acid (Zhang and Lioy, 1994), both of which can irritate the lungs if produced in sufficient amounts. Some of the potential by-products produced by ozones reactions with other chemicals are themselves very reactive and capable of producing irritating and corrosive by-products (Weschler and Shields, 1996, 1997a, 1997b). Given the complexity of the chemical reactions that occur, additional research is needed to more completely understand the complex interactions of indoor chemicals in the presence of ozone. However, some ozone generators are manufactured with an "ion generator" or "ionizer" in the same unit. An ionizer is a device that disperses neg... |