Ozone is comprised of three atoms of oxygen - one of nature's basic elements. Because the ozone absorbs the sun's energy, people on earth are protected from the damaging and potentially cancer-causing rays of the sun.
Nature also produces ozone nearer to the earth's surface each time lightning flashes.
The sweet, fresh smell observed after a thunderstorm is the fresh ozone in the air. Ozone as a water purifier Ozone's practical use as a water purifier was discovered in the late 1800's in the Netherlands. Its first large-scale use was the installation of an ozone purification plant for the city of Nice, France in 1906. Today, more than thirty countries use ozone systems to purify drinking water. In fact, the city of Los Angeles installed one of the largest ozone water treatment plants in the world, processing more than 74 million gallons of water per day.