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caustic ozone, where are the ions?
I am writing as an electronics techie. I smelled something suspicious as soon as I turned on the ionizer in this product, and in five minutes I started coughing, quite sure this was ozone. So I borrowed an ion meter and and ozone meter to test it out. Ion output? Zero! Ozone output? 0.209 parts per million within 10-15 minutes. I checked the Web for ozone health standards ([...]). Devices that produce ozone, it says, can decrease lung function, aggravate asthma, and cause throat irritation and cough, chest pain and shortness of breath, inflammation of lung tissue, and higher susceptibility to lung infection. The risk of course depends on the amount of ozone. The Environmental Protection Agency states the risk level at 0.08 parts per million, the Food and Drug Administration states it at 0.05 parts per million, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health state it at 0.10 parts per million. NIOSH goes further by saying this level is "not to be exceeded at any time." So, what about 0.266 parts per million from the SunTouch Plus? I have to conclude that this product is defective and dangerous, and cannot be used to obtain an ion effect.
An additional observation, 11/2/11: The company has now put a so-called "Educational Kit" on its website, which deserves critical review, because of several inaccuracies and deceptions. One case in point: they reprint a graph on page 7 from the American Journal of Psychiatry, without crediting the authors or posting a reprint permission statement from the Journal. They imply that their device would produce results as good or better than Prozac -- a medical claim for a device without FDA approval! Looking at this article (Amer. J. Psychiatry 2006, volume 163, pages 805-812), one finds that the study used a substantially different light therapy device: "The active light treatment consisted of daily exposure to a white fluorescent light box (Uplift Technologies Inc. [Dartmouth,N.S.], Model Daylight 10000, fitted with an ultraviolet filter and rated at 10,000 lux at a distance of 14 in from screen to cornea) for 30 minutes as soon as possible after awakening, between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m." According Uplift's specifications, this device produces illumination at 4000 Kelvin color temperature (a slightly pinkish, white hue), and directs the light downward toward the eyes through a translucent diffusing filter. According to Nature Bright's specifications, their device produces 16,668 Kelvin color temperature (a cold blue hue), and the light is directed straightforward and upwards toward the eyes without a diffusion filter. The obvious result -- as I have experienced -- is intense visual glare. Certainly one cannot assume that the two devices would produce the same results, whether or not compared with Prozac.
September 2011 · Health and Household