Why Negative Ions and Ozone

The main differences in the air between healthy outdoor environments and unhealthy or harmful outdoor environments are the levels of negative ions, ozone, and pollutants. Healthy environments have higher levels of negative ions, moderate levels of ozone, and low levels of particles and/or pollutants. Unfortunately, most indoor environments are more similar to unhealthy and hazardous outdoor environments. This includes negative ion, ozone, and pollutant levels.

Negative Ion and Ozone Levels in Healthy and Unhealthy Environments:

As an example, in healthy outdoor environments such as in the mountains, or in a country meadow, the negative ion concentration is typically 2000 to 4000 negative ions per cubic centimeter. By contrast, the negative ion concentration in an unhealthy place, such as on congested L.A. freeways, is less than 100 negative ions per cubic cm. The negative ion concentration in most indoor environments is between 100 and 200 negative ions per cubic cm. In extremely healthy and invigorating environments, such as near a large waterfall, the negative ion level is around 1,000,000 per cubic cm., which is the level produced by the "Surround Air" Ionizer. Effects of Negative Ions

The ozone level in healthy outdoor environments is typically between 0.02 ppm (parts per million) and 0.04 ppm, which is the ozone level produced by Surround Air Ionizer purifiers. In most unhealthy indoor environments, the ozone level is virtually zero. In some unhealthy indoor and outdoor environments, the ozone level may actually be well above 0.1 ppm, which is too high. However, this only happens when the hydrocarbon level (pollution from industrial smokestacks, vehicle emissions, etc.) rises to a very high concentration. It has been proven that ozone breaks down the hydrocarbon (a.k.a. VOC) molecules. When the pollution is high enough though, the nature cannot help but to overcompensate under this strain. Is Ozone Safe?

This is why indoor environments need a source of negative ions and ozone. In addition to being beneficial to your health when occurring at proper levels, they are highly effective at removing particles and contaminants from the air, which results in a much healthier environment by itself.

Particulate removal is critical since there are a variety of sources of indoor air pollution in the typical home. In fact, the EPA advises us that indoor air pollution is the nation's worst environmental health problem, even 2 to 10 times as bad as outdoor air pollution. In addition, most people spend well over 90% of their time inside, making clean indoor air even more important for our health.

Filters may remove some of the larger particles from the air (0.3 microns or larger), but it is more critical to remove the finer particles out of the air. The smaller the particle, the deeper it is taken into the lungs when inhaled. The deeper a particle travels into the lungs, the more damage it causes. Fortunately, negative ions and ozone can remove particles as small as 0.01 microns. This allows them to remove pollutants that air filters cannot, such as bacteria, chemicals, fumes, fine dust, viruses, etc.

Types of Pollutants / Particles Removed from Air
(Partial List)

Ozone	Negative Ions
Chemicals Algae Exhaust Fumes Bacteria Carbon Monoxide Mildew Tetrachloride Nicotine Acrylic Acid Germs Ammonia Cigarette Smoke Mold/Mold Spores Fungi Fertilizer Chemicals Oils Resins Carbolic Acid Odors Gases/Fumes Viruses Formaldehyde Benzene Propane Ether Alcohol Gangrene Industrial Waste	Solid Particles Smoke Dust/Dust Mites Dead Skin Pollens Insect Feces (Allergen) Mold Spores Animal/Pet Dander Chemicals

Facts About Negative Ions

• Approved by the U.S. FDA (Food & Drug Admin.) as an approved allergy treatment.
• Ionization is mandatory in many European and Russian Hospitals.
• In March of 1999, Good Housekeeping Magazine had its engineers test an ionizer by using a smoke test, and found that it cleared out the smoke in a tank.

How Negative Ions Purify the Air

Virtually all particles in the air have a positive charge, while negative ions have a negative charge. In which case, negative ions and particles magnetically attract to one another. When there is a high enough concentration of negative ions in the air, they will attract to floating particles in large numbers. This causes the particle to become too heavy to remain airborne. As a result, the particle will fall out of the air, preventing it from being inhaled into the respiratory tract where it can trigger breathing and health problems.

The ionized particle will then be collected by normal cleaning activities, such as vacuuming or dusting. If the particle happens to be kicked back up into the air again, it will be ionized, and quickly settled out of the air once again.

In nature, negative ions are generated by processes such as sunlight, lightening, waves from the ocean, and from waterfalls. "Concrete Jungles" minimize the natural production of negative ions by disrupting the delicate electrical balance between the atmosphere and the earth. Surround Air Ionizers recreate them with electrodes ("needlepoints") to electrically produce negative ions. This method produces a density (about 1,000,000/cm³) that is comparable to the world's largest waterfalls, such as Niagara Falls, which offers one of the healthiest environments in the world. (Effects of Negative Ions)

Surround Air Ionizers do not cause any of the drawbacks of typical needlepoint ionizers though. As a result, there is no "black wall" effect, erosion or wearing down of the electrodes, or any other "side effects".

Other Negative Ion Benefits

Asthma, Allergies, and other Respiratory Problems and Illnesses. Many scientific studies have been conducted over the years (mostly in Europe and Russia) showing how exposure to high levels of negative ions drastically or significantly reduce asthma and allergy symptoms, as well as respiratory-related illness.

Migraine Headaches. Inhaling negative ions prevents the production of Serotonin inside the brain. The overproduction of Serotonin inside the brain is the cause of migraine headaches.

Depression. A study at Columbia University suggested that negative ion treatment is more effective than anti-depressant drugs such as Prozac and Zolof, and there are no side effects with negative ions.

Fatigue. The production of Serotonin (chemical produced inside the brain) also causes fatigue, and negative ions prevent the production of Serotonin inside the brain.

Sleep. A study in France found that negative ionizers helped people to sleep better, by preventing the production of the chemical Serotonin in the brain.

Mental Performance and Concentration. Several tests have shown people exposed to negative ion treatment perform much better in mentally-oriented activities than those who are not.

Physical Performance. Due to test results performed by Russian scientists, negative ionizers were always installed in the locker rooms and resting places for the Russian athletes.

Burns. Studies performed in one hospital found that burn patients were far more likely to recover more quickly and thoroughly.

How Ozone Purifies the Air

Ozone oxidizes airborne pollutants, then reverts back to oxygen,
transforming polluted air to pure and refreshed air.

Here is how the process works:

• Oxygen molecules (O¹ and O²) are converted to ozone (O³) by either a high-voltage electrical charge (such as from lightning), or by ultraviolet light (such as from the sun rays).

• One oxygen atom (O¹) splits off from the ozone molecule, and reacts with other particles when it comes within range of a particle and/or pollutant. Ozone is highly reactive, so it never fails to initiate this reaction with other particles.

• As the 2nd most powerful oxidant in existence, the single oxygen atom proceeds to "oxidize" the particle it reacts with. This means it burns the particle, which changes its physical properties. As a result, the particle will no longer be toxic, and will no longer be able to reproduce if it is biological. In other words, the particle becomes completely harmless.

• When the single oxygen (O¹) molecule oxidizes the particle, it too is destroyed. This leaves behind the O² it split away from, or pure and clean oxygen. Is Ozone Safe?

Effectiveness of Ozone at Low Levels

Russian scientists performed a study to see how effective ozone was at improving indoor air quality in schools. Respiratory-related illnesses were drastically improved after the ozone systems were installed. The ozone concentration produced by the systems were 0.015 ppm (parts per million).

In testing performed by two scientists by the name of Elford and Van den Ende, it was found that ozone effectively destroyed bacteria at 0.04 ppm.

Many publications have published studies showing the effectiveness of lower concentrations ozone (0.01 to 0.03 ppm) at removing odors and pollutants. Some of these include the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES), U.S. Air Force technical publications, and Manufacturing Chemist.

Test Results

Disinfection of the pollutants below were measured in identical conditions within a containment chamber, with one exception. In one chamber, the pollutants were exposed to a relatively stable 0.05 parts per million of ozone concentration, and normal room air in the other chamber (close to 0 ppm). Pollutant count measurements were taken before, during, and after the 4 hour testing period. Each chamber began with an identical amount of the tested pollutants.

Test Pollutant	Beginning Count	No Ozone (After 4 hrs.)	Ozone (0.05 ppm) (After 4 hrs.)	Approx. Ratio*
Staphylococcus	7,250,000	6,320,000	940,000	7:1
Aspergillus	4,500	5,500	1,500	5:1
E. Coli	3,500,000	16,500	2,500	7:1
Salmonella	2,500,000	11,200	4,180	3:1
Candida	200,000	560,000	3	186,666:1

* Ratio of how much more pollutants remained in the "non-ozone" chamber than the "ozone" chamber after the 4-hour testing period.

Statements from Professional Studies on Ozone

ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning): "Ozone controls surface mold on packages and walls, and reduces scale development and decay. The presence of ozone . . . . significantly reduces the occurrence of mold." What is Mold?, About Mold, Mold Facts

Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES): "Ozone is one of the purest and most powerful oxidants and germicides known."

Professional Studies on Ozone Safety

The Refrigeration Service Engineers Society has reported that electric-arc welders exposed to ozone levels of 0.2 to 0.3 ppm (parts per million) for a decade showed no adverse effects. The Surround Air Ionizers produce between 0.02 to 0.04 ppm of ozone.

Also, according to the 1961 Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, "During the 80-year history of the large scale usage of ozone, there has never been a human death attributed to it." To this day, there has still never been a single human death or incident of harm attributed to ozone. 

This despite the fact that ozone was widely used in hospitals during the first half of the 20th century, and is still widely used in European hospitals. In addition, millions of ozone air purification systems are in use worldwide, both commercially and residentially.

By Contrast, well over a million people are hospitalized, and well over 100,000 are killed every year due to medication side effects, according to the FDA.

Ozone is completely safe and effective when occurring within FDA and OSHA standards of 0.05 ppm (parts per million). In healthy and clean outdoor environments, ozone occurs between 0.02 ppm and 0.05 ppm. Ozone has not been found to be harmful to the lungs until occurring at concentrations of 0.1 to 0.2 ppm. However, it is very difficult (if not impossible) to adjust most ozone air purifiers to produce anywhere close to this amount of ozone. Is Ozone Safe?

Self-Policing

In addition, the smell of ozone will become unpleasant and obnoxious well before reaching harmful levels, serving as a built-in and self-policing safety mechanism. If this happens, you know to make an adjustment (i.e. adjust setting of machine, increase air flow, place in more open/larger area).

However, at proper levels (0.02 ppm to 0.05 ppm), it will have a pleasant and clean smell to it, reminiscent of the smell outside after a lightening storm. Surround Air Proper Ozone Levels.

何謂負離子？ 近年來因科技發展，各國加速工業化，由於受到電子電器產品普及與都市居住空間過於密閉的影響，環境的離子平衡遭受嚴重的破壞。因此，以人工方式補充負離子的負離子產生機就逐漸受到大家的青睞，而且各種相關的產品也熱烈問世，但人們對負離子的了解仍然很有限。本文主旨在說明何謂負離子、環境中負離子分布的情形、以及人工負離子如何生成與其功能。 在解釋何謂「負離子」之前，先對「離子」（ion）做簡單的介紹。離子是帶有電荷的原子、原子團或分子，是極小的微粒。離子有兩種，帶正電的稱為正離子，帶負電的則是負離子。 以水（H2O）為例。氫（H）的原子是一個帶正電質子的核被一個帶負電的電子所環繞，若因某種力量的介入使電子離開原處，氫原子因而成為帶正電的狀態，這就是離子化的氫（H+）。對氧（O）而言，原子核中有 8 個帶正電的質子，周圍有 8 個電子圍繞，2 個在內層，6 個在外層，但外層能階可容納 8 個電子，尚有 2 個空位，因此氧是很容易自他處奪取電子的原子態（這一過程稱為「氧化」）。 亟欲獲取電子的氧原子與擁有 1 個電子的氫原子，很容易結合而成水分子。如果利用外來能量把水分解，就會使它變成一個帶正電的氫離子，及一個帶負電的氫氧離子（OH－）。但在自然環境中，氫氧離子是以附著於水（H2O + OH－ = H3O2－）的負離子方式存在。由於水分子是自然環境中最容易離子化的分子之一，因此當我們稱環境中有較多負離子的狀態時，指的就是負離子化的水分子含量十分豐富的狀態。 含有較多負離子化水分子的空氣，一般認為會讓生物體感到舒適愉快，在日本就稱正離子是「疲勞離子」，而稱負離子為「舒適離子」、「元氣離子」或「空氣中的維他命」。 環境中負離子的生成 在自然環境中常因狀態的變化而產生負離子。以瀑布為例，瀑布是水從高處落到低處所形成的，在落下的同時，水粒子會和岩石產生激烈的碰撞而飛散，飛散的水粒子與周圍空氣摩擦就可能形成負離子。像淋浴、噴泉、溫泉澡堂都和瀑布類似，飛散的水粒子中也可能會含有很多的負離子。 地表中的輻射性物質也可能成為負離子的發生源，它們輻射出來的α射線、β射線、γ射線或Ｘ射線，都可能以附加或失去電子的方式把電子釋放到空氣中，使空氣中的分子形成帶負電的負離子。 雷是帶電的雲所產生的放電現象，當雲和地上的電壓差達到大約1億伏特時就會打雷，產生的電流約有40萬安培，也可能激發四周空氣中的分子形成負離子。 負離子的功能 諾貝爾物理獎得主菲力浦‧萊納德（Philip Lenard）博士發現，當河水由高山上衝瀉而下，擊打到瀑潭周圍的岩石或水面時，激起大量的水花，就可能會產生許多負離子。這些負離子會吸納空氣中的塵埃、惡臭等細小的汙染物，隨後附著在樹木、岩石或溶入潭水中，因此達到淨化空氣的作用，這種大自然的自淨作用又稱為「萊納德效用」。 負離子成為世界各國目光的焦點，主要是因為在現代的居住環境中受到環境汙染物，如汽車排放的廢氣、工廠的煤煙、大量使用的農藥和化學物質等的影響，使得空氣中負離子大量減少。許多國家對負離子與健康關係的研究都相當熱衷，較具代表性的有美國、德國、加拿大、瑞士、瑞典等國家，對於負離子與健康有關的說法，最早可以追朔到西元　1560　年左右。 北海道大學名譽教授阿岸祐幸博士指出，「正離子的世界是氧化→腐敗→破壞，具有破壞動植物健康的作用。相反地，負離子的世界是還原→合成→復甦，具有促進包含人類在內的動植物健全成長的作用。」這句話闡明了現代人對負離子功效的無限期望。

資料來源：

《科學發展》2007年5月，413期，54 ~ 56頁(pdf檔)