The APCO® air treatment system from Fresh-Aire UV® has received an Environmental Claim Validation to UL 2998. The environmental claim validation procedure from UL Environment confirms the ultraviolet/photocatalytic oxidation (UV/PCO) indoor air purification product emits zero ozone.
Fresh-Aire UV officials said the APCO system is the first UV/PCO indoor air quality product to achieve UL 2998, a new validation procedure designed to determine if equipment emits zero ozone during their intended use, and can help wholesalers, HVAC contractors, and consumers identify products that meet their criteria.
The APCO air treatment system is listed on UL SPOT (ul.com/spot ), UL’s sustainable products database, which is open to the public. APCO was tested to UL 867 standards and reviewed under the UL 2998 validation procedure. Qualifying zero ozone emission products must demonstrate they emit less than the maximum ozone concentration limit of 0.005 ppm (5 ppb), which is 10-fold less than permitted under UL867.
Over the past 20 years, many stand-alone and HVAC system-mounted air cleaning products have appeared on the market. Many of these systems have been found to emit ozone or ozone reaction products into occupied spaces. Consequently, various standards and health organizations, such as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), California Air Resource Board (CARB), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have raised concerns about the dangers associated with ozone-emitting air cleaners.
For example, the FDA was the first to set an ozone emissions limit of 0.05 ppm (50 ppb) for all medical devices. In 2008, CARB targeted ozone emissions with a state-wide regulation requiring certification of all electronic air cleaners under UL-867’s 0.05 ppm (50 ppb) limit.
Recently, ASHRAE took a similar stance with its 2015 publication of the Position Document on Filtration and Air Cleaning. The position document’s Section 2.6 states: “Ozone is harmful for health and exposure to ozone creates risk for a variety of symptoms and diseases associated with the respiratory tract; Ozone emission is thus undesirable." Section 3.2 of the document further states: "devices that use the reactivity of ozone for the purpose of cleaning the air should not be used in occupied spaces because of negative health effects that arise from exposure to ozone and its reaction products.”
“Consumer safety is our number one priority,” said Chris Willette, president of Fresh-Aire UV. “Our product’s validation to UL 2998 allows HVAC professionals to promote our APCO technology knowing that it’s safe, effective, and now validated as having zero ozone emissions.”
