September 23, 2005

 

A survey of more than 1,000 adults in the U.S. has found that adults are unclear about ozone and its benefits, 40% have some understanding there is "good" ozone and "bad" ozone and other facts about ozone are less well understood, according to the lotus Oh-Zone! Awareness Survey.

Myths and misperceptions uncovered by the survey reveal that:

-- 34% t of respondents reported they know ozone is safe;

-- 25% think it causes pollution while another 25 percent believe it is pollution;

-- 24% of respondents believe ozone creates a blue sky; and

-- 22% know that ozone is safely used to kill bacteria and germs in some municipal water systems and that ozone helps reduce indoor air pollution.

According to Steve Hengsperger, President of Tersano, Inc., sponsors of the lotus Oh-Zone! Awareness Survey: "There is much apprehension and misunderstanding regarding ozone, which is a naturally occurring molecule Mother Nature produces whenever and wherever it is needed for protection, recycling and clean up." This means that as humans dump pollutants into the atmosphere, Mother Nature must produce increasingly more ozone to clean it up, he explained.

Results of the lotus Oh-Zone! Awareness Survey have been released following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. The report provides an ongoing assessment of the U.S. population's exposure to 148 different environmental chemicals -- including those used in well-known household cleaning products -- using biologic monitoring. Biomonitoring is the direct assessment of people's exposure to chemicals by measuring the chemicals of their breakdown products (metabolites) in blood or urine.

"We can significantly reduce our ingestion, inhalation and absorption of toxic chemicals simply by using a microfiber cleaning cloth dipped in water infused with ozone -- also called super-oxygenated water -- to sanitize countertops, cutting boards, baby bottles and household surfaces," Tersano's Hengsperger says. "The result will be a reduced dependency on traditional household cleaners that contain toxic chemicals."

But are Americans ready to give up their favorite cleaners? When asked if they would be interested in a device that turns ordinary tap water into a safe, powerful disinfectant that is stronger and faster than chlorine bleach:

-- 40% of respondents said they would be positively disposed to buying such a product;

-- 25% said they do not believe such a device is possible, but would purchase it if it were available; and

-- 18% believe it is possible and would purchase such a device.

Nation's Water Supply Infrastructure in Decay

According to Hengsperger, "The water infrastructure in the U.S. is in a state of neglect and disrepair with many pipes and plants coming to the end of their useful life. Unfortunately, older systems are deteriorating at the same time federal water quality rules are being tightened. But because local budgets cannot keep pace, it's becoming increasingly important to have an extra level of protection at home that ordinary water filters alone can't provide." There are products on the way that will allow consumers to sanitize their water with ozone technology without the added expense of a whole home system, Hengsperger notes.

The lotus Oh-Zone! Awareness Survey was conducted June 17 - 21, 2005 by telephone among a nationally representative sample of 1,017 adults 18+ (507 men and 510 women) in Caravan, a national telephone omnibus survey. The survey was developed for Tersano, Inc. by Leflein Associates, Inc. and fielded by Opinion Research Corporation International. The margin of error for the sample overall is +/-3.0%. The margin of error for subgroups is larger.