From the January 2003 Idaho Observer:

Ozone: The natural, non-toxic pollution solution

It is so interesting how the world works: Good things thrive in aerobic (oxygen-rich) environments; bad things thrive in anaerobic (oxygen-depleted) environments. To promote good things like robust heath and minimize the opportunity for bad things like infection and disease, increase the amount of oxygen in your life. In decades past, getting outside and breathing lots of fresh air and eating good, healthy, unprocessed food was enough. Today, however, fresh air and good food are harder to obtain. This truth is evident in our age of epidemic ill-health and canned foods. So, our choice is to sink in oxygen depravity or find ways to give ourselves the oxygen we need.

by Ron Murphy

Ozone is nature's agent for cleaning and treating both air and water. That clean fresh smell in the air following a thunderstorm is attributable to the increased presence of ozone in the breathing mixture.

Ozone is a gas that is created naturally in our atmosphere when oxygen in the air is exposed to high intensity ultraviolet rays. Both the sun and lightning create ozone. Ozone is trivalent oxygen (O3) instead of normal oxygen (O2). The extra oxygen atom makes ozone one of nature's most powerful oxidizers with its natural by-product-oxygen O2. Ozone is a very unstable molecule; once it is created (either by nature or by man) ozone lasts about 20 minutes then reverts back to oxygen. That is enough time to do its work.

Ozone advantages

* Ozone is one of nature's best bleaching agents.

* Ozone sanitizes and disinfects

* Ozone removes unwanted organic material such as algae and bacteria from water

* Ozone helps to remove unwanted inorganic material such as iron, manganese, and hydrogen sulfide from water

Unpurified water from lakes, streams, springs and shallow wells may contain disease-causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. Some people are more sensitive to contaminants in drinking water than others. Many people who have experienced periods of chronic general malaise have regained their health by simply drinking purified water.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that persons who have a weakened immune system or are on kidney dialysis should not consume chlorinated city tap water. Chlorine is a known carcinogen. Chlorinated water, over time, will negatively impact the bodies of otherwise healthy persons as well.

Ozone: The pollution solution

Chlorine has for decades been used by municipal water suppliers in the U.S. to kill harmful organisms in drinking water. Recent studies have linked systemic doses of chlorine as delivered into the body through drinking water to bladder and colon cancer, miscarriages, stillbirths and birth defects. Other studies have shown that chemical residues from chlorinated water accumulate in soil and negatively impact the function of helpful bacteria.

Europeans recognize the value of ozone. Many major and minor European municipalities have been ozonating drinking water since 1904. More than 2,500 cities world-wide currently use ozone to remove bacteria and other harmful substances from public drinking water. In the U.S., several cities no longer treat municipal water supplies with chlorine and have switched to ozone. Among them are Andover, Mass; Gilbert, Peoria and Tucson, Arizona; Casper, Wyoming; Los Angeles and Vallejo, California and; Milwaukee Wisconsin.

Ozonated water is also being used in fish hatcheries. Ozone has been proven to prevent many waterborne diseases which has resulted in a higher yield of spawned fish.

Bottled water sold in the states is ozonated. Recently the FDA has approved the use of ozone as an antimicrobial agent on food products and storage.

The myriad benefits of ozone in the treatment of water has been known to science for nearly 100 years. However, use of ozone is suddenly gaining acceptance and popularity because it is inexpensive, non-toxic and can be used to improve health in a variety of ways by creating oxygen-rich environments. Harmful bacteria, both inside and outside the body, require oxygen-depleted terrain to thrive. They simply cannot survive where ozone is present in sufficient quantity.

Aside from its proven ability to treat water, ozone has been used to remove contaminants from indoor air and increase levels of oxygen available in a room. The presence of ozone has been proven to promote health by increasing levels of oxygen available to the body.

Items such as books, drapes, furniture and clothing that survived a flood or a fire but smell like mold or smoke are commonly returned to an odorless condition after being ozonated by flood and fire restoration professionals.

It is a marvelous convenience that the versatility of ozone is becoming better understood at a time when we need it most. To be healthy we need pure water, clean air and fresh food. Ozone technology can be used to purify contaminated water; can be used to clean polluted air and can be used to eliminate bacteria that spoil food and diminish its nutritional value.

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Ron Murphy is a consultant for a Northern Ca. company that builds and sells ozone machines. To learn more about ozone applications that could improve your quality of life, contact Murphy at Pure Technologies: www.pure-technologies.net