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CALIFORNIA CLEANS UP INDOOR AIR CLEANERS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 27, 2007
Dimitri Stanich
(916) 322-2990
www.arb.ca.gov

California cleans up indoor air cleaners (Devices emit ozone, a gas known to create and exacerbate respiratory problems)

SACRAMENTO: Today, the California Air Resources Board adopted the nation's first regulation to prohibit indoor air cleaners from emitting more than 0.050 parts per million of ozone.

Some air cleaning devices, called ozone generators, have been shown to produce indoor ozone concentrations several times higher than the state's outdoor air quality standard. CARB's new regulation prohibits the sale of devices in California that produce enough ozone to harm human health. The standard of .050 parts per million will assure that concentrations remain below that level. Some devices exceeding these levels may be exempted but only for industrial use and where exposures are already regulated.

There are many types of air cleaners using a variety of technologies to remove pollutants from the air in homes and offices. Some produce ozone intentionally and others as a by product of the electronics. The law mandating CARB act, Assembly Bill 2276 signed into law in the autumn of 2006 targeted those consumer devices that produce large amounts of ozone.

"People with respiratory problems need to be protected from ozone," said Mary Nichols, Chairman of the Air Resources Board. "Consumers bought these devices hoping to reduce suffering for themselves or a loved one, only to make the situation worse."

An ARB-funded survey by the University of California at Berkeley, found that in the last five years 50 percent of California households that purchased air cleaners did so to address asthma and allergy problems. Forty five percent of those homes included children.

Ozone is the main ingredient of smog and is the primary target of numerous local, state, and federal health-protective measures. Very low exposure is tolerable to humans but at higher levels adverse and even dangerous health effects can result. Much research and analysis has led California to establish an outdoor ozone standard of 0.070 parts per million over an 8-hour period, and 0.090 parts per million over a one-hour period. Exposure beyond this level can lead to lung inflammation and impaired functioning, coughing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, worsening asthma symptoms, hospitalization due to respiratory issues, and potentially death. The new regulation will prevent this type of dangerous exposures to an estimated 500,000 Californians.

Some manufacturers of ozone generators have argued that ozone has the ability to reduce levels of indoor air pollutants. Research has shown that the opposite is true. Ozone reacts with certain indoor chemicals to form ultra fine particles, which are respiratory irritants, and formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen. Manufacturers also alleged that ozone reduces odors and kills mold and bacteria in the air. However, while ozone can react with some odorous chemicals, it also irritates nasal passages and degrades one's sense of smell, thereby masking the smell rather than eliminating it. Ozone can kill microbes in the air but only at concentrations roughly 100 times greater than the amount allowable by this regulation.

Michael T. Kleinman, a professor of Environmental Medicine at the University of California at Irvine, supports the board's actions, "Ozone is associated with human deaths. It can cause irreversible changes such as fibrosis-like stiffening of the lung." Kleinman added, "In my opinion, the use of an ozone-generating device as an indoor air cleaner is dangerous, especially if occupants already have lung or heart diseases, or are elderly."

The new CARB regulation also requires all air cleaners pass an electrical safety test to prevent fire hazards. They must also carry a specified label on packaging that helps consumers identify acceptable CARB-certified air cleaners. Any air cleaning device designed for use in a single room, a whole house, an entire floor in a multi-story commercial building, inside cars, as well as "personal air purifiers" worn around an individual's neck is subject to this regulation.

For more information on the regulation go to ARB's website here.

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health based air quality standards.

Potentially Hazardous Ozone Generators Sold as Air Purifiers
This page updated October 4, 2007.

Some devices that are advertised as "air purifiers", air cleaners, or ozone generators purposely emit large amounts of ozone, the main component of smog! Not only are such ozone generators ineffective at cleaning indoor air, but breathing ozone poses serious health risks. The Air Resources Board recommends that these ozone generators not be used.

The following is a partial list of portable air cleaners sold as "air purifiers" or ozone generators that can intentionally emit ozone. This list includes air cleaners sold primarily for residential use, plus some for commercial, in-vehicle, and personal use. Inclusion on this list is based on information available at the time of review. These devices have not been tested by the Air Resources Board using the test protocol required by the recently approved regulation, and until the testing required by the regulation is completed, we do not know if the ozone emitted will exceed the recently adopted 0.050 ppm standard.

Exclusion from this list is not to be construed as endorsement by the California Air Resources Board. In-duct systems and other non-portable ozone generators are not listed here, but may generate potentially harmful levels of ozone. This list (updated September 21, 2007) will be updated periodically as information becomes available.

Air-Zone (All models)XT-120, XT-240, XT-400, XT-800, XT-2000, XT-4000, XT-6000, XT-14000, XT-28000. Airdow (ADA Air Purifier and Air Cleaner (Xiamen) Co., Ltd) ADA 311, 377, 388, 705, 706, 708, 717, 728, 729, 737, 739, 767 Allied Products/Biofeedback Instrument Corporation Kleen-Air King II Model 1004A, 1004, 1004 SP, 1007 Alpine Living Air Classic, XL-15, Breeze AT, LA1, LA2, Peak, Flair, FreshAir, Personal Air Purifier Applied Ozone Systems CS-1, CS-2 APSNA - Air & Water Purification Systems North America (All models)FA1, C3, BAT, F2 Aran Aqua Pollution Control Systems SS-Series Aranizers (SS-1, SS-3X, SS-4X, SS-6, SS-8, SS-10) NS-Series Aranizers (NS-3, NS-5, NS-6, NS-8, NS-10) Better Living Sun Aire Air Purifier BioTech Research EdenPURE Area Air Purifier, EdenPURE Deluxe Air Purifier Biozone (All models)50, 100, 102, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, Travel Aire 50V, Travel Aire 250T Breathe Pure QOZO-100, QOZO-500 Capital Vanguard Co., Ltd HV-(107, 109, 202, 202A, 203A, 205, 206A, 207, 207A, 210A, 217A, 308), HV-202I+O3 Carspa Technology Co., Ltd Car0100, Car0300, Car0400 Cliff Scott Enterprises (All models) CSE 100, CSE 101 Codyson CD-100, CD-120, CD-210, CD-200, CD-2120, CD-2200 Crystal Air (All models)CA45-2, DC Pro (200, 450, 970), Multizone 280, Pro (420, 700, 3400-1,3600-1), UV Pro 550 Csonka (All models)Original AirCare, Super AirCare, Pro AirCare, Automotive AirCare,Facility Control System AirCare, Car Fresh AirCare, Desk Fresh AirCare, TurboFresh AirCare Detail King PT-109 EcoQuest (Most models)Fresh Air, Living Air Classic, Breeze AT, Flair, Fresh Air To Go, EcoBox Ecozone H-50, XL-250 SH, TS-50, M10 Ez-com System, Inc. EA-8705, EW-300, EW600, EW-900, GW-250 Enaly (Most models)OZX-A200B, OZX-A500B, OZX-A3500, OZX-A700, OZX-7000B Fresh-Aire (Triatomic Environmental, Inc.)T-30UV HealthWay Home Products, Inc. Healthway Air Deodorizer HW-DE01 Hefei Sensing Electronic Co., Ltd. Ozone Air Purifier Imperial Products Air Fresh G-100, Moonland Desktop Ozone Purifier, SL-002 High Output Ozone Air Purifier, XJ-1000 Ionic Air Purifier, XJ-3000B Professional Ozone Air Purifier Jenesco (All models)DC-12, PT101, PT101W, PT109, PT109W, PRO-4, PRO-8, FM-1,FM-2 King Air & Water Purification Corporation See Allied Products Lenntech (All models)Series 3000 LightningAir LA-1XP/2500, LightningAir Plus 5PX series, LA-2SPX Longevity Resources ZipZone, EnviroPro (420, 700, 3400, 3600, 3600-5) Matsutek Enterprises Co., Ltd. ION737, AR-150, CA-320, CA-721 Nanbai N206a, N208 Natural Air Nature's Air NA-2 O3ozone DC Pro 450, Pro 700, DC Pro 970, UV Pro 550 Odatus (All models) Odatus II Oxytech Research (All models)MGA-500, MGA-1000, MGA-2000, MGA-3500 Ozomax, Ltd. Ozo Fresh 30 Ozone Environmental Technologies Uvonair (1000, 3000, 5000) Ozone Solutions (All models)MZ-280, MZ-450, MZ-950, OMZ-420, OMZ-700, OMZ-1000, OUV-550,OMZ-2500,OMZ-3400 Peaceful Breeze Small Room Air Purifier Model 388 Peak Pure Air Peak O3 Air Purifier Prozone (All Models)PZ5-A, PZ2-2A, The Prozone (Purifier), Whole House Twister, PZ6-AIR, Whole House Air and Surface Purifier Pure 'n Natural (Certain models)OZ-2000 ( Odor Zapper ), Sani-Mate AS-250-B, NA50 Deodorizer/Air Freshener QCH Tradelink Medi-Aire Quantum Pure Aire AccuAire ALS-750, ALS-1500, ALS-3000, RMS-100, ClassicAire (CS-1000, CS-2000, CS-3500), XP-350 Queenaire Technologies, Inc. QT Storm, QT Thunder, QT Thunder-24, QT Tornado, QT Cyclone, Newaire Plugin Rain Fresh Air RFA5000, RFA3500 RainbowAir (All models)Newaire Plug In, Activator (250, 500, 1000) Shenyang Bodycare Ozone Research Insitute UV_Portable, UV_Wall Mount SpringAir (Certain models)CS-1, CS-2 Sun Aire see Better Living SurroundAir (Certain models)Multi-Tech Taoture International Enterprises, Inc.OZX-A200B, OZX-A500B TriMed AirMedic SBR-1, SBH-1, C12-1, C12-U1 Trump Electronic Company TP-2, TP-3, TP-4, TP-5, TP-6, TCB-913GC Ultra-Pure (Real spirit USA)UP-988, UP-899, Pet-Pro 3800 Windchaser (Certain models)IF-1, IF-2, IMC-1 Zhuhai Large Horse Electrical appliances Co., Ltd. HMA (300, 300/A, 300/A02, 300/H01, 300/H02, 300/RH, 300/RH01, 300/RH02,600/O3) Zontec Perfect Air Plug-In, PA 100, PA 200, PA 300, O3 Air Purification System