灰尘到底是怎么来的？

Dust is a big component of the exposome.What particles are you inhaling and ingesting as you go about your day?

灰尘是暴露物的一个重要组成部分。在你一天的生活中，你吸入和摄入的是什么微粒?

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.

大约三分之一的家庭灰尘是在家里产生的。这些组成部分的不同取决于你家的结构和年龄，气候和居住者的清洁和吸烟习惯，所以没有标准的灰尘公式。

First,you and your pets generate some of that detritus.Sloughed off human skin cells are part of the debris.So are pet skin cells,called dander,and dust mites that feed on skin–both of which are strong human allergens.

首先，你和你的宠物产生了一些碎片。脱落的人体皮肤细胞是碎片的一部分。宠物皮肤细胞也一样，被称为皮屑，以及以皮肤为食的尘螨——这两种都是强烈的人类过敏原。

Overall,you can be sure that your dust also includes some 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.

总的来说，你可以确定你的灰尘还包括一些腐烂的昆虫、食物残渣(尤其是在厨房里)、地毯、床上用品和衣服上的纤维以及吸烟和烹饪时产生的微粒物质。我们希望我们的360度灰尘分析程序将帮助解决更多的其他进入灰尘的谜团。

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 flame retardants were required by law in furniture and children’s sleepwear.

到目前为止，这太恶心了。在混合物中也有人类制造的化学物质。几十年来，制造商用阻燃剂和表面保护剂对衣服和家具进行了化学处理。事实上，在一段时间内，阻燃剂被法律要求用于家具和儿童睡衣。

But then researchers started identifying them in human blood and tissue,and even newborns showed evidence of exposure in utero.How did these molecules end up in people’s bodies?Mostly via inhalation or ingestion of indoor dust.

但后来研究人员开始在人体血液和组织中对其进行鉴定，甚至新生儿也有子宫内暴露的证据。这些分子是如何进入人体的?主要通过吸入或吸入室内灰尘。

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 determine the potential toxicity of these chemicals in the human system.Scientists are also developing new techniques using wearables,such as silicone wrist bands,to determine the relationship between these dust sources and how much of them winds up in a person’s body.

这里有一个地方，新的科学和新的技术开始引起严重的健康危险。目前正在进行一系列研究，以确定这些化学品在人体系统中的潜在毒性。科学家们也在开发新的技术，利用可穿戴设备，如硅胶腕带，来确定这些粉尘源与人体内有多少粉尘源之间的关系。

To get a full picture of dust sources and hazards,you need to consider the other two-thirds of the indoor dust load,which actually come from outside.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 ranges in size and composition from gritty silt to irritating pollen to the finest of soil particles.

为了全面了解粉尘源和危害，您需要考虑室内粉尘负荷的三分之二，这实际上来自室外。这些灰尘和灰尘被追踪到鞋子、宠物的脚和皮毛上。它从打开的窗户、门口和通风口吹进来。它的大小和成分也各不相同，从砂质粉土到刺激花粉，再到最细小的土壤颗粒。

One of the most widespread health issues related to outdoor sources is lead.This potent neurotoxin has accumulated to sometimes extremely high levels 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.

其中一个最普遍的健康问题与户外来源是铅。经过一个世纪的工业排放，燃烧含铅汽油的车辆和含铅油漆的降解，这种强大的神经毒素在土壤和灰尘中积累到了有时极高的水平。在城市和靠近采矿或其他工业点的铅源，这种危害尤其严重。

Lead-contaminated soils,and dust generated from them,are tightly linked to lead poisoning of children.Owing to their active neural development,lead can permanently disable exposed children.

铅污染的土壤以及由此产生的灰尘与儿童铅中毒密切相关。由于他们积极的神经发育，铅可以永久性地使暴露的儿童残疾。

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.

在防止铅中毒的过程中，科学家们把注意力集中在他们所称的点源上：相对容易识别的东西，如油漆剥落和铅水管。土壤和灰尘的暴露不太为人所知。