Air Purifiers

The Alpine Company offers an air purifier which does not utilize filters. Instead, they claim that their purifier works by electrically charging the dust particles in the air and causing them to fall to the ground, or by producing “activated oxygen” or ozone to remove odors without the use of fragrances, according to http://www.air-purifiers-cleaners.com/springair-cleaners.htm. Of course we must be skeptical of these claims because the company which is selling these filters has a self-interest in claiming the purifier’s effectiveness.

The EPA provides a study of the health consequences and the actual effectiveness of ozone purifiers specifically at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html. This site is probably more trustworthy because there is no special interest for the EPA to determine the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of ozone purifiers. The site mentions that no federal government agency has approved ozone purifiers for use in occupied spaces, which they say is contrary to the suggestions of some of the vendors of these devices. They go on to say that ozone can damage the lungs if inhaled and add that “Available scientific evidence shows that at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone has little potential to remove indoor air contaminants”. They list the same for odor causing chemicals, viruses, bacteria, mold, and other biological pollutants.

At the end of this discussion they suggest that ionizers are commonly used to clean the air and are effective. Staying with the EPA’s website, at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/residair.html, they discuss the pros and cons of ionizers when compared with other types of air filters (for example, they are found to be more effective against cigarette smoke but less effective without aid in removing larger dust particles), but the central point is that ionizers are effective as air purifiers. In conclusion, the EPA’s objective investigation of the claims made by air purification vendors such as the Alpine Company