Hole in ozone

[Yinzer]

I was doing some reading about ozone (O-3 as opposed to O-2))and how ozonating your water before drinking it can help clean out your body. Apparently the extra molecule attaches to the bad stuff and ...scares it away? Ozone also has the same mechanism in our atmosphere, getting rid of some of the s*** we put into our air. Anyway, if they can ozonate water and other things at will, could they simply make a whole bunch of ozone and patch up the hole?

[New Forester]

Ozone is a highly reactive form of oxygen, and is quite toxic. It might help to sterilise water, as other oxidants can, but I'd be most surprised if it does anything but harm in the body. Oxidants are what anti-oxidants work on -- such as many vitamins. Clean out your body by eating lots of fruit and vegetables, and taking plenty of exercise... Ozone is a major pollutant at lower levels. It's produced by the action of sunlight on smog etc, and poisons trees, and of course us. The right place for it is very high up in the atmosphere. Incidentally, the "ozone" reputed to be found at the seaside is imaginary -- it's just the rather similar smell of the salt and seaweed. There's a very long history of toxic or dangerous things being regarded as good for you. Tobacco, radiation, ozone, mercuric chloride (calomel), arsenic, strychnine, bleeding, purging, etc, etc. Then there are imaginary effects, like magnetism and copper bracelets for rheumatism, homeopathy, "crystals", N-rays (which convinced the whole French scientific establishment for a while) etc etc etc. As to why we can't just replace what is lost from the ozone layer, I'm not too sure. Several possible good reasons come to mind. One is that it's a dynamic system, with ozone being created and destroyed in balance. The holes are where it's being destroyed too quickly, and if you put more up there, I think it would just go too. Secondly, the quantities must be really enormous, and it's all very high up indeed. How would you transport the millions (hundreds? thousands? billions?) of tons of ozone almost into space? Above Antarctica, too. Thirdly, it's a techie fix, and in the long run those never work!

[Yinzer]

This makes a lot of sense New Forester and you seem to be very knowledgeable. The only reason I even gave the idea a second thought is because the woman who wrote about it at http://drclark.ch/info/ozone.htm is some kind of doctor concerned about curing cancer. Maybe she's just wacky? She also likes "zapping" all her illnesses away. But it all just sounded weird enough to be true.

[Yinzer]

If you would, please check out the link and tell me what you think.

[Rabelais]

If you go to quackwatch you find among other articles this item. http://www.mlmwatch.org/04C/Alpine/alpine.html As for Dr Clarks website, many of the facts quoted are in fact true. Only when she says "In the case of polio only 0.012ppm removes all viral cells in seconds" one should remember 1. viruses aren't cells and 2. if it does so it just shows you how damaging an oxidant it is. As to the rest of the page it is all flummery and folderole. mixed with pseudoscience. Low level ozone is a nasty pollutant with quite dangerous toxicity. As to fixing the hole in the Ozone layer, if you can make a 40km chimney so as not to kill us all on the ground I'm sure you could fix it in a trice.

[Yinzer]

I checked out that link and another link from there to the EPA and I am absolutely appaled to find a supposed doctor spreading such inaccurate information! Thanks folks. Just another lesson in why to never trust anyone and to always assess a situation for yourself.

[Canib]

I remember that in 1991, Mount Pinatubo Volcano in the Philipines erupted and did more damage to the ozone than man could do in 3 centuries if we did nothing but try to hurt the ozone layer. Within 3-5 years, the ozone was back to exactly what it was before the eruption. What that tells me is that the ozone heals itself, that it is probably just what it is supposed to be and not to worry about it. Man cannot do more than nature is already doing. It is time to just relax.