Ozone is a chemical that can be both friend and foe to human beings — depending on where it is. In the atmosphere, high overhead, ozone protects Earth from harmful radiation that comes from the sun. But at Earth’s surface, ozone is better known as air pollution, and breathing it can be dangerous. Inside a building, levels are much lower than outside because ozone changes when it runs into something like furniture. A new study identified yet another layer of protection that keeps ozone out of our bodies — human skin.
Skin contains many different kinds of oils.When ozone in the air meets the oils in human skin, there is a chemical reaction. That means that the molecules of ozone — and possibly the molecules of oil — change. For the new study, the scientists gathered information about the dust in the bedrooms of 500 children who live on the Danish island of Fyn. This dust, the scientists found, contained many different chemicals. One was a phthalate but they were surprised to find large amounts of cholesterol and squalene (Squalene is a fat that makes up about 10 percent of the oil in human skin.). Then the researchers realized that both of these things can be found in human skin. The human body regrows its outer layer of skin every two to four weeks, and bits and pieces of the old skin break off — to become dust. In this study, the researchers determined that skin flakes on surfaces were covering those surfaces with squalene, thus making those windows, doors or couches break up ozone as well as skin does.
It may seem like good news that human skin helps indoor spaces fight off dangerous ozone.In a different experiment, scientists in Austria mixed together ozone and skin oils in the laboratory. They found that, even though this mixing gets rid of ozone, it also creates new kinds of pollution. One in particular, called 4-oxopentanal (or 4-OPA), might be particularly dangerous.
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