What are the health effects of ozone?
Ozone can irritate the respiratory system, causing coughing, throat irritation, and/or an uncomfortable sensation in the chest. Ozone can reduce lung function and make it more difficult to breathe deeply and vigorously. Breathing may become more rapid and shallow than normal. This may limit a person’s ability to engage in vigorous activities. Ozone can aggravate asthma. When ozone levels are high, more people with asthma have attacks that require a doctor’s attention or use of medication. One reason this happens is that ozone makes people more sensitive to allergens, the most common triggers of asthma attacks. Ozone can increase susceptibility to respiratory infections. Ozone can inflame and damage the lining of the lungs. Within a few days, the damaged cells are shed and replaced much like the skin peels after a sunburn. Animal studies suggest that if this type of inflammation happens repeatedly over a long time period (months, years, a lifetime), lung tissue may become permanently sc
• Exposure to ozone results in coughing, wheezing, tightness in chest, difficulty breathing, and aggravated asthma • Ozone works on your lungs much like a sunburn on your skin, affecting the cells within your lungs. Like a sunburn, ozone damage causes temporary inflammation • Though effects are temporary, continued exposure can result in permanent damage • Also increases sensitivity to allergens, aggravating asthma and wheezing. Recent studies indicate that ozone may actually induce asthma in children Ecosystem Health Ozone enters plants through the leaves, just like other gases, causing visible leaf injury, reduced photosynthetic capacity, increased respiration, premature leaf death, reduced growth, mortality and changes cell chemistry and diminishea production of carbohydrates, the plants’ food. It also negatively affects reproduction and growth of plants.
