tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/indoor-dust-71838/articlesIndoor dust – The Conversation2022-03-16T03:57:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1775422022-03-16T03:57:09Z2022-03-16T03:57:09ZWearing shoes in the house is just plain gross. The verdict from scientists who study indoor contaminants<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450599/original/file-20220308-109743-ujxk6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C31%2C5280%2C3498&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>You probably clean your shoes if you step in something muddy or disgusting (please pick up after your dog!). But when you get home, do you always de-shoe at the door?</p>
<p>Plenty of Australians don’t. For many, what you <a href="https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jam.13250">drag in on the bottom of your shoes</a> is the last thing on the mind as one gets home.</p>
<p>We are environmental chemists who have spent a decade examining the indoor environment and the contaminants people are exposed to in their own homes. Although our examination of the indoor environment, via our <a href="https://www.360dustanalysis.com">DustSafe program</a>, is far from complete, on the question of whether to shoe or de-shoe in the home, the science leans toward the latter. </p>
<p>It is best to leave your filth outside the door.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman removes shoes at the front door." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">It is best to leave your filth outside the door.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/house-dust-from-35-countries-reveals-our-global-toxic-contaminant-exposure-and-health-risk-172499">House dust from 35 countries reveals our global toxic contaminant exposure and health risk</a>
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<h2>What contaminants are in your home, and how did they get there?</h2>
<p>People spend up to 90% of their time indoors, so the question of whether or not to wear shoes in the house is not a trivial one.</p>
<p>The policy focus is typically on the outdoor environment for soil, air quality and environmental public health risks. However, there is growing regulatory interest in the question of <a href="https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/sites/default/files/resources/2021/Handbook-Indoor-Air-Quality.pdf">indoor</a> <a href="https://www.euro.who.int/en/media-centre/sections/press-releases/2021/new-who-global-air-quality-guidelines-aim-to-save-millions-of-lives-from-air-pollution">air quality</a>. </p>
<p>The matter <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09603123.2018.1457141?journalCode=cije2">building up</a> inside your home includes not just dust and dirt from people and pets shedding hair and skin.</p>
<p>About a third of it is <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es9003735">from outside</a>, either blown in or <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/how-the-dust-in-your-home-may-affect-your-health/2019/07/19/9f716068-a351-11e9-bd56-eac6bb02d01d_story.html">tramped</a> in on those offensive shoe bottoms.</p>
<p>Some of the microorganisms present on shoes and floors are <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/epidemiology-and-infection/article/mechanisms-for-floor-surfaces-or-environmental-ground-contamination-to-cause-human-infection-a-systematic-review/37BF6318BD1473C4918A23C843B25D05">drug-resistant pathogens</a>, including hospital-associated infectious agents (germs) that are very difficult to treat.</p>
<p>Add in cancer-causing toxins from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10408444.2018.1528208">asphalt road residue</a> and endocrine-disrupting <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23273747.2016.1148803">lawn chemicals</a>, and you might view the filth on your shoes in a new light.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman rests her feet on the couch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Please don’t do this.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>A roll-call of indoor nasties</h2>
<p>Our work has involved the measurement and assessment of exposure to a range of harmful substances found inside homes including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2231210-antibiotic-resistance-genes-can-be-passed-around-by-bacteria-in-dust/">antibiotic-resistant genes</a> (genes that make bacteria resistant to antibiotics)</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00587">disinfectant chemicals in the home environment</a> </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117064">microplastics</a></p></li>
<li><p>the <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/5/e044833.citation-tools">perfluorinated chemicals</a> (also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals” because of their tendency to remain in the body and not break down) used ubiquitously in a multitude of industrial, domestic and food packaging products</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/1276977">radioactive elements</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>A strong focus of our work has involved assessing levels of <a href="https://theconversation.com/house-dust-from-35-countries-reveals-our-global-toxic-contaminant-exposure-and-health-risk-172499">potentially toxic metals (such as arsenic, cadmium and lead)</a> inside homes across <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04494">35 nations (including Australia)</a>.</p>
<p>These contaminants – and most importantly the dangerous neurotoxin lead – are odourless and colourless. So there is no way of knowing whether the dangers of lead exposure are only in your <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106582">soils</a> or your <a href="https://www.abcb.gov.au/sites/default/files/resources/2020/Lead_in_Plumbing_Products_and_Materials.pdf">water pipes</a>, or if they are also on your <a href="https://theconversation.com/house-dust-from-35-countries-reveals-our-global-toxic-contaminant-exposure-and-health-risk-172499">living room floor</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/house-dust-from-35-countries-reveals-our-global-toxic-contaminant-exposure-and-health-risk-172499">science</a> suggests a very strong connection between the lead inside your <a href="https://www.mapmyenvironment.com">home and that in your yard soil</a>.</p>
<p>The most likely reason for this connection is dirt blown in from your yard or trodden in on your shoes, and on the furry paws of your adorable pets. </p>
<p>This connection speaks to the priority of making sure matter from your outdoor environment stays exactly there (we have tips <a href="https://www.360dustanalysis.com/pages/interpreting-your-results">here</a>).</p>
<p>A recent Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/heres-why-ill-be-keeping-my-shoes-on-in-your-shoeless-home-11644503227">article</a> argued shoes in the home aren’t so bad. The author made the point that <em>E. coli</em> – dangerous bacteria that develop in the intestines of many mammals, including humans – is so widely distributed that it’s pretty much everywhere. So it should be no surprise it can be swabbed on shoe bottoms (96% of shoe bottoms, as the article pointed out). </p>
<p>But let’s be clear. Although it’s nice to be scientific and stick with the term <em>E. coli</em>, this stuff is, put more simply, the bacteria associated with poo. </p>
<p>Whether it is ours or Fido’s, it has the potential to make us very sick if we are exposed at high levels. And let’s face it – it is just plain gross.</p>
<p>Why walk it around inside your house if you have a very simple alternative – to take your shoes off at the door?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1518%2C4541%2C2090&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1518%2C4541%2C2090&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Why walk muck around inside your house if you have a very simple alternative – to take your shoes off at the door?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>On balance, shoeless wins</h2>
<p>So are there disadvantages to having a shoe-free household? </p>
<p>Beyond the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/feet-toes-broken-pain-covid/2021/01/11/470d2efa-4a05-11eb-a9f4-0e668b9772ba_story.html">occasional stubbed toe</a>, from an environmental health standpoint there aren’t many downsides to having a shoe-free house. Leaving your shoes at the entry mat also leaves potentially harmful pathogens there as well.</p>
<p>We all know prevention is far better than treatment and taking shoes off at the door is a basic and easy prevention activity for many of us. </p>
<p>Need shoes for foot support? Easy – just have some “indoor shoes” that never get worn outside.</p>
<p>There remains the issue of the “sterile house syndrome,” which refers to increased rates of allergies among children. Some argue it’s related to overly sterile households.</p>
<p>Indeed, some dirt is probably beneficial as <a href="https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(10)00907-3/fulltext">studies</a> have indicated it helps develop your immune system and reduce allergy risk.</p>
<p>But there are better and less gross ways to do that than walking around inside with your filthy shoes on. Get outside, go for a bushwalk, enjoy the great outdoors. </p>
<p>Just don’t bring the muckier parts of it inside to build up and contaminate our homes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dust-and-where-does-it-all-come-from-168265">What is dust? And where does it all come from?</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177542/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Patrick Taylor received funding via an Australian Government Citizen Science Grant (2017-2020), CSG55984 ‘Citizen insights to the composition and risks of household dust’ (the DustSafe project). He is an Honorary Professor at Macquarie University and a full time employee of EPA Victoria, appointed to the statutory role of Chief Environmental Scientist.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriel Filippelli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It is best to leave your filth outside the door.Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, Macquarie UniversityGabriel Filippelli, Chancellor's Professor of Earth Sciences and Executive Director, Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute, IUPUILicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1682652021-09-26T20:07:08Z2021-09-26T20:07:08ZWhat is dust? And where does it all come from?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423061/original/file-20210924-24-ceu76n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5742%2C3819&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Everything in our homes gathers dust. But what exactly is it? Where does it come from, and why does it keep coming back? Is it from outside? Is it fibres from our clothes and cells from our skin? </p>
<p>Yes, but it’s a lot more than that.</p>
<p>People from all around Australia have been sending their dust to Macquarie University’s <a href="https://www.360dustanalysis.com/">DustSafe</a> program. Instead of emptying the vacuum cleaner into the bin, they package it up and we analyse it. As a result, we are getting to know the secrets of your dust! In total, 35 countries are part of this program.</p>
<p>Here’s a taste of what we know so far.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-all-ingesting-microplastics-at-home-and-these-might-be-toxic-for-our-health-here-are-some-tips-to-reduce-your-risk-159537">We're all ingesting microplastics at home, and these might be toxic for our health. Here are some tips to reduce your risk</a>
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<h2>Dust is everywhere</h2>
<p>Dust is everywhere. It settles on all surfaces in the natural environment as well as inside homes and buildings — where we spend <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/7500165">about 90% of our time</a>, even before COVID. </p>
<p>Some dust is natural, coming from rocks, soils and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2021.116794">even space</a>. But the <a href="https://www.360dustanalysis.com/">DustSafe</a> program is revealing Australian house dust can include nasties such as:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.105125">trace metals</a></p></li>
<li><p>radioactive elements</p></li>
<li><p>antibiotic resistant genes (genes that make bacteria resistant to <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2231210-antibiotic-resistance-genes-can-be-passed-around-by-bacteria-in-dust/">antibiotics</a>)</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117064">microplastics</a> and</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.pfas.gov.au/">perfluorinated chemicals</a> (PFAS) found in fire-fighting foams, stain and water protection for fabrics and carpets, some packaging and <a href="https://www.pfas.gov.au/about-pfas/substances">other sources</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Dust from inside your home</h2>
<p>Some estimates suggest <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es9003735">one third of trace element contaminants</a> in household dust originate from sources inside your home, with the rest migrating from outside via air, clothes, pets, shoes and the like.</p>
<p>You and your pets are constantly contributing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2018.1457141">skin cells and hair</a> to dust. Dust is also made up of decomposing insects, bits of food, plastic and soil. </p>
<p>Intuitively, one might think having pets transporting a variety of organic contaminants including faeces into homes is somewhat gross. However, there is emerging evidence that some “filth” is beneficial as it may help your <a href="https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(10)00907-3/fulltext">immune system and reduce allergy</a> risk.</p>
<p>Cooking, open fireplaces and smoking indoors adds very fine dust to your home along with <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-air-pollution-and-health">contaminants of concern</a>, which are <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-air-pollution-and-health">associated with poor health outcomes</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423059/original/file-20210924-16-1gqdory.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person wipes dust from a shelf." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423059/original/file-20210924-16-1gqdory.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423059/original/file-20210924-16-1gqdory.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423059/original/file-20210924-16-1gqdory.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423059/original/file-20210924-16-1gqdory.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423059/original/file-20210924-16-1gqdory.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423059/original/file-20210924-16-1gqdory.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423059/original/file-20210924-16-1gqdory.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You and your pets constantly contributing skin cells and hair to dust.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dust contains a wide collection of chemicals, including those listed on the UN’s <a href="http://chm.pops.int/TheConvention/ThePOPs/tabid/673/Default.aspx">Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants</a>, which are linked to certain cancers, birth defects, dysfunctional immune and reproductive systems, greater susceptibility to disease and damage to the nervous system.</p>
<p>Chemicals used in pesticides and in our clothing and furniture also combine with dust in our homes. <a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/flame_retardants/index.cfm">Toxic flame retardants</a> are used in countless domestic products including <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00221">children’s pyjamas</a> and can make their way <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/es048267b">into dust</a>.</p>
<p>Dust also contains <a href="https://theconversation.com/were-all-ingesting-microplastics-at-home-and-these-might-be-toxic-for-our-health-here-are-some-tips-to-reduce-your-risk-159537">microplastics</a> from clothes, packaging, carpeting and furnishings. They’re easily inhaled and ingested, especially by children who often put their hands in their mouth.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/index.html#:%7E:text=Learn%20more-,Human%20exposure%20to%20per%2D%20and%20polyfluoroalkyl%20substances%20(PFAS)%20is,territorial%2C%20tribal%2C%20state%2C%20and">Pefluorinated chemicals</a> or PFAS — known as the “forever chemicals” — are used in many <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780081012123000046">domestic products</a> including <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00240">cosmetics</a> and some non-stick surfaces. These chemicals are in our house dust, too.</p>
<h2>Dust from outside your home</h2>
<p>About <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es9003735">two-thirds of household dust</a> comes from outdoors.</p>
<p>Garden soil and road dust gets tracked in on your shoes or blown in on windy days. Outdoor dust particles get in on the hairs of your pets. Vehicle exhaust dust also gets inside.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-a-dust-storm-and-hazardous-air-quality-can-harm-your-health-107499">Recent dust storms</a> have transported topsoil from farming lands and desert regions to our homes in the city.</p>
<p>Bushfires create <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2020/bushfire-smoke-responsible-over-400-excess-deaths">fine particulate atmospheric dust</a>, which can contain toxic components from <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-toxic-legacy-bushfires-release-decades-of-pollutants-absorbed-by-forests-145542">past pollution</a>. </p>
<p>Dust from nearby <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117593">mines and industry</a> can result in <a href="https://theconversation.com/children-continue-to-be-exposed-to-contaminated-air-in-port-pirie-113484">toxic</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-mine-dumps-in-south-africa-affect-the-health-of-communities-living-nearby-77113">exposures</a> to children. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423062/original/file-20210924-23-1orfs3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man wipes dust from the top of a shelf." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423062/original/file-20210924-23-1orfs3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423062/original/file-20210924-23-1orfs3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423062/original/file-20210924-23-1orfs3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423062/original/file-20210924-23-1orfs3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423062/original/file-20210924-23-1orfs3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423062/original/file-20210924-23-1orfs3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423062/original/file-20210924-23-1orfs3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">About two thirds of household dust comes from outdoors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Poor air quality and <a href="https://theconversation.com/mould-and-damp-health-costs-are-about-3-times-those-of-sugary-drinks-we-need-a-healthy-housing-agenda-147743">damp homes</a> are a <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240034228">source of disease and death</a>. </p>
<p>By deduction, dust would also contribute to adverse health outcomes. Certain types of dust are particularly bad; there are renewed exposures concerns about <a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/silica">silicosis dust</a> for tradespeople, and asbestos dust from home <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2013/199/6/asbestos-exposure-during-home-renovation-new-south-wales">renovation</a>. </p>
<p>Excessive use of disinfectants and antibacterial products has been <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.6b00262">linked to the increased prevalence of antibiotic resistant genes</a>, which we can detect in our dust.</p>
<p>Nearly <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-respiratory-conditions/allergic-rhinitis-hay-fever/contents/allergic-rhinitis-by-the-numbers">one in five Australians have allergic rhinitis</a> (hay fever), caused by dust related allergens such as dust mites, pollen, pet dander and skin particles.</p>
<h2>Take action against dust!</h2>
<p>House dust is part of life. Even in closed-up homes, it will still settle from the indoor atmosphere, leak from the ceiling cornices and attic spaces, and seep into your living areas through cracks around windows and doors. </p>
<p>Any particles of dirt, smoke, fibres or crushed materials that go into the air eventually come down as dust. </p>
<p>But there’s much you can do.</p>
<p>We can try to stop dust getting inside. Use door mats and take your shoes off indoors. Mud-covered children or pets can be towelled down at the door and dusty work clothes should be removed upon entering. </p>
<p>We can choose wisely what chemicals we allow into our homes and how they are used. </p>
<p>Reducing our use of plastics, pesticides and waterproofers will help to reduce the chemical load. Quit unnecessary antibacterial products. A damp cloth with soap or a detergent is just as useful to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/disinfecting-your-home.html">clean a surface</a>. </p>
<p>Regular vacuuming helps enormously. Vacuum cleaners fitted with a fine particle filter (such as HEPA filter) are more effective at removing allergen-causing dust. </p>
<p>Dusting with a dry cloth or feather duster is likely to recirculate the dust back into the air, so use a damp cloth instead. </p>
<p>Wet mopping of hard floor surfaces also removes fine dust left behind by sweeping or vacuuming.</p>
<p>To find out more about your dust, send a sample to <a href="https://www.360dustanalysis.com/">DustSafe</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-the-dust-in-your-home-mean-for-your-health-116565">What does the dust in your home mean for your health?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MPT is currently employed as the Chief Environmental Scientist for Victoria at EPA Victoria. He remains an honorary Professor at Macquarie University.
MPT has been affiliated with Broken Hill Lead Reference Group (NSW, Australia), LEAD Group (NSW, Australia), and NSW Environment
Protection Authority’s Broken Hill Environmental Lead Program, and reports undertaking paid and non-paid work for the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s Broken Hill Environmental Lead Program in relation to the assessment and management of environmental lead contamination in Broken Hill, NSW, Australia. MPT has also provided advice in relation to lead exposure matters to various law firms, relating to mining and smelting lead contamination and human exposures in Australia and Africa, including accepting personal fees from Leigh Day for an investigation of lead contamination in Zambia. MPT also reports managing two community-orientated programmes in Australia that provide advice about lead contamination from garden soils and household dusts with support from Macquarie University. MPT also reports compensated and uncompensated work for the Australian Building Codes Board, the Australian Federal
Government, and the US non-governmental organisation Pure Earth.
The "DustSafe" program was funded by an Australian Government Citizen Science Grant, CSG55984 to M.P. Taylor.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cynthia Faye Isley works at Macquarie University as a postdoctoral researcher for DustSafe.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kara Fry works at Macquarie University as a research assistant for DustSafe. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Max Mclennan-Gillings works as a research assistant for VegeSafe, DustSafe's sister citizen science program. </span></em></p>Australians have been sending their dust to our DustSafe program for us to analyse. Here’s what we’ve learned so far — and what you can do to reduce your dust risk.Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor Macquarie University, Macquarie UniversityCynthia Faye Barlow, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Environmental Science, Macquarie UniversityKara Fry, Academic Casual, Macquarie UniversityMax M Gillings, Academic Casual, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1275152019-11-22T00:36:11Z2019-11-22T00:36:11ZWhat do Sydney and other cities have in common? Dust<p>Sydney and its suburbs have been <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-21/sydney-smoke-from-fires-unlikely-to-clear-today-authorities-warn/11723876">enveloped in haze</a> over the past few days. The haze is a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-21/sydney-smoke-from-fires-unlikely-to-clear-today-authorities-warn/11723876">mixture of bushfire smoke and dust</a> blown in from western New South Wales. As particles move from rural locations, like Gospers Mountain in this case, they make grey cities.</p>
<p>In Australia, dust blurs the distinction between the bush and the city. Elsewhere it blurs the farmlands with the concrete jungles, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/indonesias-huge-fires-and-toxic-haze-will-cause-health-problems-for-years-to-come-124556">nation-states with regions</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-a-dust-storm-and-hazardous-air-quality-can-harm-your-health-107499">Explainer: how a dust storm, and hazardous air quality, can harm your health</a>
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<p><a href="http://societyandspace.org/2019/03/17/spiral/">Spiralling dust</a> challenges our usual ways of thinking about bush, farm, industry, rich city and poor city divides. It travels across geographical and socioeconomic boundaries. There is no easy way to stop it.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NzjGyOcENcE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A dust storm hit Mildura in northwestern Victoria this week.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dust’s composition and unfettered mobility <a href="https://www.stateofglobalair.org/health/sources">make it a global epidemic</a>. Once airborne, dust spares no one in its path. It sits in the lungs of cities and citizens. It is stubbornly difficult to eradicate. </p>
<h2>The harms of dust</h2>
<p>The dust brings with it old and new anxieties about life, death and disease. Air pollution caused <a href="https://www.stateofglobalair.org/health">2.4 million deaths in India and China</a> in 2017.</p>
<p>Last week, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/delhi-is-engulfed-by-toxic-pollution-why-isnt-anyone-wearing-masks/2019/11/14/bb4adfe4-0643-11ea-9118-25d6bd37dfb1_story.html?outputType=amp">Delhi</a> and <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/haze-singapore-unhealthy-range-november-nea-12088930">Singapore</a> reported serious air pollution from agricultural fires and industrial emissions. <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/diu/story/stubble-burning-dips-in-north-india-satellite-data-show-1619716-2019-11-16">Particles from crop burning</a> in the neighbouring states of Haryana and the Punjab and <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/power/finance-commission-likely-to-reject-12-billion-package-to-help-utilities-cut-pollution/articleshow/72136898.cms?from=mdr">power plants</a> took Delhi’s air quality index to <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/diu/story/stubble-burning-dips-in-north-india-satellite-data-show-1619716-2019-11-16">dangerously high levels</a>.</p>
<p>Dust is also generated from within cities, particularly from construction sites. Regulatory bodies seek to <a href="https://societyandspace.org/2019/07/11/breaking-the-ground/">contain these sites within enclosures</a>. Where the regulatory frameworks are weak, environmental bodies impose fines. </p>
<p><a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/construction-dust-open-waste-dumping-top-polluting-activities/articleshow/67445201.cms">Construction dust adds significantly to air pollution</a> in Indian cities. In Kolkata, <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/west-bengal/building-materials-add-to-air-pollution-in-calcutta/cid/1699147">construction materials are stored on sidewalks and roads</a>. Even with fines, it is nearly impossible to make barriers that can contain dust.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302846/original/file-20191121-479-i4bqwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302846/original/file-20191121-479-i4bqwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302846/original/file-20191121-479-i4bqwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302846/original/file-20191121-479-i4bqwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302846/original/file-20191121-479-i4bqwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302846/original/file-20191121-479-i4bqwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302846/original/file-20191121-479-i4bqwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302846/original/file-20191121-479-i4bqwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Workers spray water as a dust control measure at a construction site in Parramatta, Sydney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Malini Sur</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Haze can be seen, but the threats of dust are often invisible. Dust plumes <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/27/dust-storms-diseases-sydney">can carry bacteria and viruses</a>. Dust can <a href="https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/bb145a804f951ad6ab5bab0ba45b835a/Port+Augusta+Dust+and+your+health+information+2017.FINAL.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE-bb145a804f951ad6ab5bab0ba45b835a-mN5ShjC">cause a variety of respiratory and circulatory diseases</a>.</p>
<p>In Singapore, dust mites have been claimed to be the <a href="https://www.asianscientist.com/2014/02/health/dust-mites-main-allergies-singapore-2014/">main cause</a> of respiratory allergies. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/increased-deaths-and-illnesses-from-inhaling-airborne-dust-an-understudied-impact-of-climate-change-96625">Increased deaths and illnesses from inhaling airborne dust: An understudied impact of climate change</a>
</strong>
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<h2>The colours of dust</h2>
<p>Dust gathers colour. In Australia, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/natural-wonders/massive-red-dust-storm-sweeps-over-new-south-wales/news-story/1eb304c90ccfa8842f2bb553bb65de70">dust storms are typically red</a>. </p>
<p>The so-called “Asian dust storms” are yellow. <a href="https://asiasociety.org/korea/hwang-sa-yellow-dust">Originating in the deserts of Northern China and Mongolia</a>, strong winds carry yellow dust all the way to the Korean Peninsula via the jet stream. </p>
<p>These storms have increased in China, and the levels of industrial pollutants in the dust often have too. Yellow dust also <a href="https://asiasociety.org/korea/hwang-sa-yellow-dust">carries viruses, fungi, bacteria and even heavy metals</a>, none of which is good for respiratory health.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Thailand was affected by yellow dust. Authorities in Bangkok used <a href="https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1611010/bangkok-fires-water-cannon-into-the-air-to-fight-pollution">water cannons</a> and even <a href="https://www.thaipbsworld.com/cloud-seeding-results-in-brief-rain-over-parts-of-bangkok/">cloud seeding</a> in attempts to limit the dust’s effects. </p>
<p>Singapore is periodically <a href="https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/air-quality-eastern-singapore-enters-unhealthy-range-haze-due-particulate-matter">enveloped in grey</a> dust.</p>
<h2>The history of dust</h2>
<p>Today, talk of smoke, haze and smog is common to the world’s cities. Once dust settles, we become habituated to it. Dust resides in landscapes and humans.
And dust tells stories about historical wrongs. </p>
<p>Australia has a long history of death from exposure to asbestos dust. Dust <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/when-dust-ends-in-death-how-asbestos-devastated-wittenoom-ng-b88930946z">wiped out the town of Wittenoom</a> in Western Australia. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/history/">first documented asbestos death</a> was recorded in the UK in 1906. Although asbestos has been known since then to be deadly, it continues to be a stubborn presence around the world. Worldwide consumption of asbestos is <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131021061734/http:/www.silverdell.plc.uk/images/downloads/Silverdell_History_of_Asbestos.pdf">nearly as high as it has ever been</a>.</p>
<p>In the early 1930s, overcultivation of wheat on the Great Plains of the US created the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Dust-Bowl">Dust Bowl</a>. Overploughing, poor land management and severe drought left the topsoil exposed. Spring winds picked up this loose soil, resulting in “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Dust-Bowl">black blizzards</a>”. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ep7-7x2sp8Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Black blizzards’ added to the misery of inhabitants of the impoverished Dust Bowl.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The dust affected <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/dust-bowl">huge swathes of the country, including the cities of Chicago and New York</a>. It deepened the economic crisis of the Great Depression and caused mass migration. </p>
<p>Haze from forest fires has been a regular occurrence in Singapore <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/attachments/2015/10/02/haze_covers_whole_island_oct_28_1977.pdf">since at least the 1970s</a>. These have originated in the south of Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra. In the 1990s, transboundary pollution became the subject of two regional summits, leading to the <a href="http://haze.asean.org/?wpfb_dl=32">ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution</a> in 2002. </p>
<p>In 2014, Singapore passed the <a href="https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/THPA2014">Transnational Haze Pollution Act</a>. This law enables regulators to prosecute companies and individuals, even <a href="https://www.wri.org/news/2014/08/statement-singapore%E2%80%99s-new-haze-pollution-law-%E2%80%9C-new-way-doing-business%E2%80%9D">beyond the nation-state’s borders</a>, that cause air pollution.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-built-an-app-to-detect-areas-most-vulnerable-to-life-threatening-haze-122388">We built an app to detect areas most vulnerable to life-threatening haze</a>
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<h2>A pervasive challenge for cities</h2>
<p>Our bodies create dust and dust enters our bodies. <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/house-dust-mite">Species emerge that live off dust</a>.</p>
<p>What makes dust harder to reckon with in our imaginations is that its particles are almost invisible and its source is generally unknown. It is an amalgam of an uncountable number of sources, often from many different countries and producers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/african-dust-storms-double-air-particle-concentration-in-texas-18423">African dust storms double air particle concentration in Texas</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Whether resulting from geological events, deforestation, construction or some indeterminate combination of each, our inability to pinpoint dust’s source makes climate accountability extremely difficult.</p>
<p>A key focus for cities now and in the future is to think about how we manage dust, the plans and practices we put in place to limit dust creation and contain its spread.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127515/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The haze now engulfing Sydney isn’t an isolated problem. Cities around the world struggle to manage the many sources of tiny airborne particles and the discomfort and illnesses these cause.Malini Sur, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney UniversityEric Kerr, Lecturer, National University of SingaporeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1165652019-06-17T11:21:34Z2019-06-17T11:21:34ZWhat does the dust in your home mean for your health?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279413/original/file-20190613-32351-5qb4q7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=628%2C511%2C5362%2C3476&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some ingredients in those tiny particles can have big impacts.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/home-cleaning-concept-man-wipes-dust-1367256494">Yaroslau Mikheyeu/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You vacuum it, sweep it and wipe it off your furniture. But do you know what it actually is – and how it may affect your health?</p>
<p>Don’t feel bad if you’re clueless about your dust. Scientists are not that far ahead of you in terms of understanding the sources and health risks of indoor air and particles.</p>
<p>That’s an issue, because people spend a lot of time indoors. Indeed, the average American stays within four walls for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500165">almost 90% of their day</a>. So knowing more about how your indoor environment affects your health is vital.</p>
<p>To better quantify environmental influences on health, researchers have begun using <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyr236">an “exposome” approach</a>, which considers every last environmental exposure an individual experiences over a lifetime. Your own exposome includes everything from secondhand smoke when you were a baby to lead exposure in your childhood to particulate matter if you grew up near a major roadway or industrial facility. </p>
<p>Dust is a big component of the exposome. What particles are you inhaling and ingesting as you go about your day?</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279274/original/file-20190613-32317-3ujy96.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279274/original/file-20190613-32317-3ujy96.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279274/original/file-20190613-32317-3ujy96.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279274/original/file-20190613-32317-3ujy96.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279274/original/file-20190613-32317-3ujy96.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279274/original/file-20190613-32317-3ujy96.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279274/original/file-20190613-32317-3ujy96.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279274/original/file-20190613-32317-3ujy96.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">360 Dust workers unpack a donated sample.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gabriel Filippelli</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MEp4948AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">I’m a geochemist</a>, and my lab studies environmental health at the household level. Along with environmental scientist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=d_ZBfxYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Mark Taylor</a> at Macquarie University and other international partners, I’m conducting a research project on the indoor exposome.</p>
<p>Instead of dumping their vacuum canister into the trash, citizen-scientists put it into a sealable bag and send it off to our lab for analysis. This project, called <a href="https://www.360dustanalysis.com">360 Dust Analysis</a>, is one of a number of recent efforts that are starting to crack the code on indoor dust. </p>
<h2>The dust is coming from inside</h2>
<p>About one-third of household dust is created inside your home. The components differ depending on the construction and age of your home, the climate and the cleaning and smoking habits of occupants, so there’s no standard formula for dust.</p>
<p>First, you and your pets generate some of that detritus. Sloughed off human skin cells are part of the debris. So are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2010.05.042">pet skin cells</a>, called dander, and dust mites that feed on skin – both of which are strong human allergens.</p>
<p>Overall, you can be sure that <a href="http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1966870,00.html">your dust also includes some</a> decomposed insects, food debris (especially in the kitchen), fibers from carpet, bedding and clothes, and particulate matter from smoking and cooking. We hope our 360 Dust Analysis program will help solve more of the riddle of just what else goes into dust.</p>
<p>So far, so gross. And there are humanmade chemicals in the mix as well. For decades, manufacturers have chemically treated clothing and furniture with flame retardants and surface protectants. In fact, for some time, the <a href="https://www.cpsc.gov/Business--Manufacturing/Business-Education/Business-Guidance/Childrens-Sleepwear-Regulations">flame retardants were required by law</a> in furniture and children’s sleepwear.</p>
<p>But then researchers started identifying them in human blood and tissue, and even newborns showed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b01793">evidence of exposure in utero</a>. How did these molecules end up in people’s bodies? Mostly via inhalation or ingestion of indoor dust. </p>
<h2>Health concerns about what we put in our homes</h2>
<p>Here’s one place new science and new techniques are starting to raise serious health red flags. A flurry of research is currently underway to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-018-0113-2">determine the potential toxicity</a> of these chemicals in the human system. Scientists are also developing new techniques <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2017.9">using wearables</a>, such as <a href="https://greensciencepolicy.org/monitoring-chemicals-in-our-environment-with-wristbands/">silicone wrist bands</a>, to determine the relationship between these dust sources and how much of them winds up in a person’s body.</p>
<p>A pet-free and fiber-free indoor environment would be one way to reduce the amount and potential toxicity of indoor dust. But there’s an additional concern that’s emerged from recent research: the rise of antimicrobial resistance. </p>
<p>Research has linked several indoor disinfection products to antimicrobial resistance. At least one study found that elevated levels of triclosan, a common antimicrobial agent in hand soaps, were correlated with high levels of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b00262">antibiotic-resistant genes in dust</a>, presumably from bacteria that live in your home and dust. This relationship is due to repeated partial, but not complete, destruction of bacteria and other microbes that go on to grow and proliferate, carrying resistant genes.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279412/original/file-20190613-32335-1cipnfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279412/original/file-20190613-32335-1cipnfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279412/original/file-20190613-32335-1cipnfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279412/original/file-20190613-32335-1cipnfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279412/original/file-20190613-32335-1cipnfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279412/original/file-20190613-32335-1cipnfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279412/original/file-20190613-32335-1cipnfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279412/original/file-20190613-32335-1cipnfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s easy for whatever’s outside to just blow right in.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hand-dusting-window-sill-reduce-allergens-86375398">Serenethos/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The dust that comes in from outside</h2>
<p>To get a full picture of dust sources and hazards, you need to consider the other two-thirds of the indoor dust load, which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/es9003735">actually come from outside</a>. This dirt and dust is tracked in on shoes and on the feet and fur of pets. It blows in through open windows and doorways and vents. And it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/es9003735">ranges in size and composition</a> from gritty silt to irritating pollen to the finest of soil particles.</p>
<p>One of the most widespread health issues related to outdoor sources is lead. This potent neurotoxin has <a href="http://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000059">accumulated to sometimes extremely high levels</a> in soils and dust after a century of emissions from industrial sources, vehicles burning leaded gasoline and degraded lead-based paints. The hazard is particularly great in cities and near mining or other industrial point sources of lead. </p>
<p>Lead-contaminated soils, and dust generated from them, are tightly linked to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24927721">lead poisoning of children</a>. Owing to their active neural development, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.med.55.091902.103653">lead can permanently disable exposed children</a>.</p>
<p>In the drive to prevent lead poisoning, scientists have focused on what they call point sources: relatively easily identifiable things like peeling paint and lead water pipes. Soil and dust exposures are less well known.</p>
<p>Researchers have recently found correlations between <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/es303854c">lead in air and blood lead levels in children</a>. Now several lab groups are taking a careful look not just at exposures in outdoor settings but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/es9003735">also at how lead may seep into homes</a> and become part of the indoor exposome.</p>
<h2>Limit what you can</h2>
<p>Much as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.187.4176.535">Freon in refrigerants and other products</a> caused the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6710-0_2">degradation of Earth’s protective stratospheric ozone layer</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reprotox.2007.07.010">bisphenol A, a plasticizer used in bottles</a> and other consumer products ended up in people’s bodies, there’s concern among scientists that “better living through chemistry” might result in a string of <a href="https://www.ehn.org/chemical-exposures-are-small-doses-harm-2518446452.html">unintended human health consequences</a> in the realm of dust.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279411/original/file-20190613-32366-qfiztr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279411/original/file-20190613-32366-qfiztr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279411/original/file-20190613-32366-qfiztr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279411/original/file-20190613-32366-qfiztr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279411/original/file-20190613-32366-qfiztr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279411/original/file-20190613-32366-qfiztr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279411/original/file-20190613-32366-qfiztr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279411/original/file-20190613-32366-qfiztr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Keeping shoes for outdoor use only has benefits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/shoes-on-threshold-door-332678351">Volkova Vera/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Taking off outdoor clothing like jackets and adopting a shoeless household policy is one way to reduce indoor exposure to outdoor pollutants. <a href="https://www.ciriscience.org/a_96-Study-Reveals-High-Bacteria-Levels-on-Footwear">Shoe bottoms are gross</a>: 96% of shoes have traces of feces bacteria on their soles, including the antimicrobial resistant <em>C. diff</em>, and over 90% of these bacteria are transferred to floors. Add in cancer-causing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10408444.2018.1528208">toxins from asphalt road residue</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23273747.2016.1148803">endocrine-disrupting lawn chemicals</a>, and the recommendation becomes even clearer – no outdoor shoes inside.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriel Filippelli receives funding from the National Institutes of Health through the Indiana Clinical Translational Sciences Institute and from the Indiana University Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge Program. </span></em></p>Even the tidiest space has some dust. Researchers are investigating just what these indoor particles are made of and their possible implications for human health.Gabriel Filippelli, Professor of Earth Sciences and Director of the Center for Urban Health, IUPUILicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.