Ozone is an elemental molecule with formula O3. Ozone (O3) is a highly reactive gas composed of three oxygen atoms. It is both a natural and a man-made product that occurs in the Earth’s upper atmosphere (the stratosphere) and lower atmosphere (the troposphere). Depending on where it is in the atmosphere, ozone affects life on Earth in either good or bad ways.
Ozone is a powerful oxidant (far more so than dioxygen) and has many industrial and consumer applications related to oxidation. This same high oxidizing potential, however, causes ozone to damage mucous and respiratory tissues in animals, and also tissues in plants, and above concentrations of about 0.1 ppm. While this makes ozone a potent respiratory hazard and pollutant near ground level, a higher concentration in the ozone layer (from two to eight ppm) is beneficial, preventing damaging UV light from reaching the Earth’s surface.
Ozone occurs naturally in the troposphere, mainly due to the release of hydrocarbons from plants and soil that break down in sunlight to nitric acid and oxygen radicals. Natural levels are seldom high enough to cause problems for humans, but the extra ozone from industrial processes and automobiles can cause a number of them. The highly reactive gas damages forests and crops, damages living tissue and causes respiratory ailments in sensitive individuals. Ozone levels in the troposphere aren’t constant — they increase on hot sunny days in metropolitan and other areas of high industrial activity. Ozone is a primary component of smog.
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