If it emits ozone above certain limits it is, says the California Air Resources Board (CARB) which has enacted the nation’s first regulations for home air purifiers.

CARB says that some air cleaning devices, called ozone generators, have been shown to produce indoor ozone concentrations several times higher than that state’s outdoor air quality standard. The Board’s new regulation prohibits the sale of devices in California that produce enough ozone to harm human health. How high is that? CARB sets the level at .050 parts per million.

Now that California has its air purifier regulation in place, it’s just a matter of time before environmental organizations start advocating for similar restrictions in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.

Maybe they’re necessary. Maybe they’re not. If you have an opinion, let us know by clicking on the “comments” line below.

More information on the CARB rule is available here.