Otana Jakpor's mother suffered from severe asthma problems. In a news article in Consumer Reports magazine, Otana was surprised to read that some air cleaners emitted high amounts of ozone, which is very harmful to breathing.
To find out if air purifiers polluted indoor air, Otana studied the problem. "I designed, coordinated, and implemented eight experiments over two years to test my hypothesis that ozone-generating air purifiers and other ozone-generating household devices would have a negative effect on pulmonary function, especially in people with asthma and allergies," she said.
Otana recruited volunteer human subjects and used borrowed scientific instruments to test assorted air purifiers. She discovered that some of the air purifiers produced 15 times more ozone than is produced in a Stage 3 smog alert.
She then submitted a paper about the results to the California Air Resources Board and testified at a public hearing before the board. Later Otana wrote letters to the federal government and met with officials at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., including former EPA director Stephen Johnson. Her outreach has included becoming a volunteer spokesperson for the American Lung Association, and she has spoken to hundreds of school students and at environmental conferences.
On May 14, 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives gave a tribute to Otana in honor of her scientific endeavors. Her findings influenced the California Air Resources Board in adopting a regulation that limits ozone emissions from air purifiers to less than 0.050 parts per million, making California the first state in the nation to regulate ozone generators.
Besides continuing her work with both indoor and outdoor pollution, Otana is now also doing research on water pollution and scarcity. In the future, Otana plans to become a physician and is interested in both research and clinical work.
Otana received first place in Action for Nature's (AFN) 2009 International Young Eco-Hero Awards. This profile was re-published with permission from AFN.
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