Ozone History

Posted by Ozone Solutions on 23rd Nov 2021

History of Ozone

An Ozone Timeline

Date Event
1785 The odor of ozone was first reported by Van Mauren in the vicinity of an electrical discharge
1840 Christian Schonbein identifies ozone's characteristic odor and names it after the Greek word "to smell"
1857 First industrial ozone generator built by Werner Von Slemans
1867 Ozone's structure identified as triatomic oxygen
1893 Ozone first commercialized as a full-scale drinking water treatment at Oudschroom, The Netherlands
1903 First U.S. municipal water installation at Niagara Falls, New York
1906 Bon Voyage water plant built in Nice, France - considered "the birthplace of ozone" for drinking water
1909 Ozone first used as a preservative for cold storage of meat
1914 German Army applies ozone to battlefield wounds and infections
1915 German physician, Albert Wolff, uses ozone in the treatment of skin diseases
1932 Dentist, E.A. Fisch uses ozonated water as a disinfectant
1939 Ozone found to prevent the growth of yeast and mold during storage of fruit
1950's Dr. W. Zable treats cancer using ozone
1970's Ozone first used in bottled water plants
1982 FDA GRAS declaration for ozone use in bottled water (Federal Register, Vol. 47, No. 113, November 5, 1982)
1992 First ozone delignification system starts up at Union Camp's Franklin, Virginia paper mill
1995 FDA GRAS for ozone use in bottled water renewed without change
1996 USDA approves the use of ozonated water for washing chicken carcasses
1997 Industry Expert Panel declares ozone GRAS and meets FDA requirements - regulators have the option to later add control on ozone use - Expert Panel Report: Evaluation of the history and safety of ozone in processing foods for human consumption [Vol. 2: Abstracts. Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, California. R&D Enterprise, Inc. / GRAS self declaration (Federal Register, v. 62 #74, April 19,1997)]
1999 USDA rejects an ozone use protocol for meats, cites 1982 GRAS declaration for water where FDA stated "any other use must be regulated by a Food Additive Petition"
2000 Food Additive Petition addresses both water and air use of ozone, under preparation - FDA estimates approval will occur within six months of submission of the Petition
2000 FDA and USDA approval granted
2000-2004 EPA Disinfection By-Products Rules (DBPR) Implementation Stage
2001 FDA approves ozone as an antimicrobial agent for direct contact with food
2001 USDA approves ozone for contact with meat and poultry
2004 Ozone is EPA listed as DBPR compliant