Ozone Cracking of Rubber Products

Manufacturer: We have recently received complaint from one of our customers indicating that our products made from natural rubber had poor resistance to ozone attack. Please tell us more about this.
 
John Woon (Senior Latex Consultant): Symptoms of ozone attack include signs of a few deep cracks or patches of very small cracks. These usually occur at right angles to the direction of the stress to which the rubber products are being exposed to. Therefore your products must have been stressed during it's service life. Unstressed rubber is attacked at a very much slower rate, if there is any.

Ozone is universally present in atmosphere. Ozone is being created by oxygen in the air by sunlight (UV light) and also high voltage discharge.

I suggest you try adding antiozonant and wax to your compound failing which you should look into switching your base rubber to polychloroprene.