A Team of researchers has found out that the reaction between ozone and skin oil may help remove ozone from the inner layer, however, it may cause a personal cloud of pollutants which affects the indoor air quality. Ozone is a form of oxygen which is found in very less quantity in the indoor atmosphere.
The researchers showcased that range of volatile and semi-volatile gas is were produced when ozone reacted with the skin oils which are Carried by soiled clothes. It was shown using a computer model of the indoor atmosphere. A researcher said that when ozone is depleted through the human skin, they become the generator of primary products, which can cause sensory irritations. This is got some people to call pollutants cloud. The researchers call this Pin-Pen effect.
The substances and outcomes of the reaction are mostly organic compounds like carbonyls which are known for their irritating property on human skin. It can give you a feeling of irritation in inner parts of the body like lungs and other body linings. People suffering from asthma are vulnerable to ozone and the products nature produced due to the reaction between ozone and skin oil.
The researchers also highlighted the fact that wearing clothes for more than one day can be risky. This is because of the fact that the dirt contains elements like fatty acids and wax esters and bearings the same clothes for more than a day without washing can cause more saturation. This means that there will be more oil on the shirt and this will increase the chances of reaction with ozone, which is an unstable gas.
Squalene is highly reactive with ozone because it has a double carbon bond. This chemical property enables high-speed reaction between both the elements. The ozone particularly wants to get in by breaking the double bond between the atoms of Squalene.
The concentration of ozone in the indoor environment depends upon the concentration of Air which is circulating outside the building and the type of chemicals which have been used to make up the exteriors and interiors of the structure. Typically, the concentration of ozone in the indoor environment ranges from 5 to 25 parts per billion (PPB). It simply indicates that the concentration of ozone is much higher in populated cities.
There is a common misconception among people as they mistaken ozone as the ozone layer. We are not talking about the ozone layer as it is good for the environment. But the ozone present at the ground level is not at all good and it is very harmful to human health.
Wearing clean clothes is a good idea as a tribute 30 – 40% of the ozone which is present in the air circulating around you. However, it is not completely effective. There are many other factors affecting the concentration of oxygen inside the room. The team of researchers typically used in the computer modeling system to showcase this thing and also checked the ventilation. Moreover, they are going to research on how smoking and other tobacco-related factors affect the layer of ozone inside the room. This complete phenomenon is termed as Pin-Pen effect.
