Astronaut Stephen Bowen works with the BioFabrication Facility aboard the ISS - photo: NASA
Astronaut Stephen Bowen works with the BioFabrication Facility aboard the ISS - photo: NASA Astronauts on the International Space Station are exposed to higher levels of potentially harmful chemical compounds than are found in homes on earth. Concentrations of potentially harmful chemical compounds in dust collected from air filtration systems on the International Space Station (ISS) exceed those found in floor dust from many American homes, a new study reveals. In the first study of its kind, scientists analysed a sample of dust from air filters within the ISS and found levels of organic contaminants which were higher than the median values found in US and Western European homes. Publishing their results today (8 Aug - US) in Environmental Science and Technology Letters , researchers from the University of Birmingham, UK, as well as the NASA Glenn Research Center, USA, say their findings could guide the design and construction of future spacecraft. Our findings have implications for future space stations and habitats, where it may be possible to exclude many contaminant sources by careful material choices in the early stages of design and construction. Professor Stuart Harrad - University of Birmingham Contaminants found in the 'space dust' included polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD), 'novel' brominated flame retardants (BFRs), organophosphate esters (OPEs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
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