Is Ozone Water Treatment Safe? 4 Points To Consider

Ozone water treatment is a popular method of improving the quality of water for crops, livestock, and humans. Still, some people have questions about how ozone works and if it’s safe to use for their particular set of circumstances. Having a more in-depth look at this topic was the inspiration behind writing this article and coming up with some key points to consider.

Ozone water treatment is a safe method to remove contaminants from water without having to add chemicals during the process. Naturally occurring in the Earth’s atmosphere, Ozonation is replicated on a micro-scale to help remove metals, microorganisms and organic matter from water sources.

Ozone has a short lifespan so won’t linger in your water

Ozone has a short lifespan, which means that once it’s been introduced into the area it decays quickly. In fact, ozone has a half-life of just five minutes in the atmosphere. This means that after five minutes, half of the ozone will have become regular oxygen molecules again; after ten minutes, only one-third remains; and so on until it is ultimately converted back to oxygen in just under twenty minutes.

Ozone is naturally occurring in nature—it’s present at ground level as well as high up in our atmosphere. Ozone production can also be replicated on Earth within microreactors and applied directly to water, as it has such a short lifespan, consumers do not need to worry about any potential effects from consuming large amounts of ozone in their water as it simply will not be there long enough.

Ozone levels used to treat water are less than nature

If you’ve ever been near an intense thunderstorm, you have been exposed to ozone levels higher than those used in water treatment. This is because lightning produces ozone and nitrogen oxide, which combine to form nitric oxide and then into ozone. Ozone from lightning has been shown to have health benefits, including purifying the air of harmful pollutants like carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

The same thing happens with the sun’s ultraviolet rays. During intense solar cycles or after particularly large solar flares, there is an increase in UV radiation that creates ozone at ground level. Because these natural phenomena create naturally occurring levels of ozone in our bodies and environment, we don’t need to worry about using too much on our water systems or in our homes—the amount used for treatment is much lower than what’s naturally produced by these events happening around us all the time!

Ozone is used in medical applications

As we mentioned, ozone is used in some medical applications. That means it’s safe for humans and other living things, so it’s obviously safe for plants and livestock. Ozone has been used as a disinfectant and in medical applications since the 1800s, particularly after the original ozone reactor was patented by Nikola Tesla in 1896. In more modern times ozone was applied to various medical studies and used on a variety of skin problems like acne, serious wounds and herpes as well as viruses like SARS and even serious diseases like cancer and diabetes. Ozone’s effectiveness on the aforementioned diseases is varied however negative side effects were rare. Ozone’s reputation for safety is largely due to its naturally occurring makeup that relies on its highly oxidative properties rather than unpredictable chemical interactions associated with many experimental drugs. Ozone’s extensive use, lack of controversies and acceptance by medical professionals reinforces its suitability for something as important as your water.

Suitable for agricultural applications

The agriculture industry consumes a lot of water and, due to various factors, is often in areas where water is not in abundance and needs to be reclaimed and recycled. Ozone water treatment is a safe option for agricultural uses for the same reasons mentioned above relating to human use, with livestock and plants generally able to tolerate higher levels of impurities than us inherently fragile humans.

As no additives remain in the water post-treatment, there are advantages to using ozonated water for cropping applications over chlorinated alternatives. Generally speaking, the closer to pure water, the better when it comes to cropping as salts and minerals can accumulate in solid over time potentially leading to degradation. Chlorine is particularly harmful to crop output when it accumulates in soil over time due to the very reason it is used to treat water, it kills bacteria, both good and bad. Good bacteria and enzymes are a vital part of a productive soil and cropping ecosystem, when these good bacteria are killed by residual chlorine, cropping output declines.