The "atmosphere" of the human body
Schoemaeker, Coralie ; Carslaw, Nicola
The human body is a factory for a variety of chemicals and constantly exchanges molecules with its surroundings. These processes are analogous to what happens in the atmosphere, where chemicals are constantly generated by natural or anthropogenic emissions. In the troposphere during the daytime, emitted gas-phase species such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are transformed by reactions that involve the hydroxyl radical (·OH, where the dot denotes an unpaired electron) and generate ozone (O3). Since the discovery of the role of ·OH in the atmosphere (1), its chemistry has been extensively studied. However, less is known about these reactions on a smaller scale, such as in the air surrounding the human body. On page 1071 of this issue, Zannoni et al. (2) report their findings about how the human body generates ·OH, with implications for models such as those used to determine indoor air quality.</p>
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