Answer to Question #103740 in Human Anatomy and Physiology for Ayat Muneam Ali

Question

Describe health risk of pollutants in indoor dust in detail.

Answer 1

Indoor dust consists of multiple micro- and nanoscopic particles, as well as organic and inorganic compounds. As a result, indoor dust consists of biological and chemical pollutants. More specifically, the biological component of indoor dust contains microbes, viruses, pollens, molds, metabolites of insects, etc. These factors may irritate upper respiratory roots causing sneezing, coughing, shortness of breath, fever, etc. Moreover, many of these components can induce the development of allergies and asthma. Some biological compounds produced by molds are toxins causing severe poisoning.

Chemical pollutants include:

- carbon monoxide causes fatigue;

- ozone is associated with severe irritations;

- smoke (i.e., cigarette smoke) causes lungs epithelium irritation;

- volatile organic compounds (i.e., components of household products comprising organic solvents) are toxic compounds when inhaled and may cause lung cancer;

- radioactive element (radon) that is released from soil, rocks and building materials may cause cancer.