Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 01/06/2008 - 10:25
Forums
South Pole Ozone Changes

Hi Ms. Bergholz,


My question is if you take in enought ozone gas can it kill you?
Thanks,
Azuri 

Mon, 01/07/2008 - 11:02

Elke Bergholz

Hi Azuri,  Thank you for your question. I am not certain what you mean by "enough ozone". So I can not answer if it can kill a person. However, I know that too much ozone in the troposphere due to pollution can cause respiraotry problems. For some people with respiratory issues that might be very dangerous. E. Bergholz

Fri, 01/11/2008 - 09:59

Elke Bergholz

Hi Azuri, I have consulted with the research team and here is an additional answer to your question:   Ozone in very small amounts in the air is harmless to humans. We breatheair that naturally has small amounts of ozone mixed in with it. Thereare some times (on very polluted air days) when ozone levels can get toohigh. It won't kill you, but some people may notice more difficulty inbreathing, coughing, with skin and throat irritation. There are specialmachines that can produce very high amounts of ozone (for waterpurification, etc.) but you would not want to breathe any air comingdirectly out of a high ozone generator since that would damage your skinand lungs and could be very dangerous.Best regards,Bryan ( and Elke)