... continued from pg 9. [Foller]
So, in the air within our homes, radon decay products are continuously falling out onto surfaces and ending up on and amongst our house dust. But, can this knowledge make us any more healthy and safe? Should the most health-conscious amongst us dust their homes more diligently? Well, maybe, but I’d suggest it for a different reason unrelated to radioactivity.
Our nasal passages are so engineered that ordinary levels of house dust are unlikely to enter the delicate tissue of the lungs-- it is far more likely such material is trapped by the function of our nasal passages and then is likely to be expelled from our bodies (one way or another) as designed. However, many of us know our nasal passages do not play well with dust. And not just any old outdoor dust, but house dust specifically. Why?
It turns out that amongst all the particles from outdoor air, the fibers shed by our textiles, tissues, carpets, and whatever all else, there is translucent a little devil (0.2-0.3 mm long) we cannot typically see called the American house dust mite, dermatophagoides tarinae (depicted), who happily makes a home for itself in our house dust. It feasts dead skin cells, which we are shedding everywhere all of the time. It is his bodily proteins, eggs,
and feces that set off allergic reactions in many of us. One of CR3’s allied organizations the American Lung Association listed dust mites as indoor air pollutants due to their significant role in allergies and asthma.
While doing so, maybe spare a thought that you, and your family, friends, and neighbors, might check up on how much breathable radon is out there floating about in our indoor air in the first place. We at Ecosense are here to help to detect your radon levels and we make it simple.
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There is very little to be done about this mite other than to keep a clean house. If it helps keep you motivated in going about such chores, just remember what this ugly little critter looks like and that you are also cleaning up the infinitesimal (and safe enough!) remains of your radon too.
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