Abstract

Ozone is a highly toxic reactive gas that affects the respiratory system, even at low concentrations, and causes significant lung damage. Nevertheless, this gas is increasingly being utilized in industrial and environmental processes, because the technologies that employ it are considered clean or green. Ozone is also a byproduct of high-voltage processes and equipment such as arc, laser beam and plasma arc welding.

There is a lack of information concerning the performance of ozone removal systems and the various direct reading instruments for measuring ozone concentrations available in Québec.

This project aims to assess the performance of various direct reading instruments and ozone purification systems available in Québec. The influence of certain parameters (ventilation flow, relative humidity) on the performance of these systems will also be studied at various concentrations of ozone.

The results will help in selecting the appropriate devices for each use. The information will be helpful in better protecting workers in environments that may be contaminated with ozone. It could also be applied to develop new guidelines and procedures for ozone exposure control strategies.