This effect should be of concern only to those working much closer to power lines such as linemen or anyone else who spends many hours a day close to high voltage devices. Goheen is quick to note that such workers have more immediate concerns than whiffing a little ozone such as electrocution and falling.
But he notes that if ozone is produced, it is possible that other so-called reactive species may be produced near human beings in the presence of high voltage and that "these results raise new questions about the relationships between electric fields and adverse biological effects."
Among the questions Goheen and colleagues are now wrestling with is what, precisely, happens to convert ambient air surrounding an animal's electrified surfaces into its chemical cousin ozone.
In an earlier experiment, Goheen measured similar amounts of ozone in grounded water under a corona source, invoking by way of explanation something called "the Taylor cones phenomenon." A liquid surface at high field strength is unstable, with spots of slightly-higher surface charge that protrude from the surface. The tips can elongate and grow so sharp that droplets and even electrons can be ejected.
Since most mammals are mostly water and produce surface moisture in sweat glands, saliva and eyes, perhaps here is a connection. Goheen and his co-authors suggest that along with the exposed moist places, "pointed rat whiskers and hairs, as well as ears, nose, and tails, at sufficiently high field strength" contribute somehow to the discharge.
'"/>
Contact: Bill Cannon
cannon@pnl.gov
509-375-3732
DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
9-Feb-2004