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Learn ➜  Interior Medicine Method ➜  Part 2

The Hidden Chemistry of Home Products

Published February 2026   |    Updated March 2026

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What's Moving Through Your Home
INDOOR AIR contains particles, gases, and compounds invisible at this scale PM10 ≤ 10 µm PM2.5 PM1 PARTICLES dust, soot, aerosols — defined by size, not chemistry particle surface ↑ VOCs — free in air as gas ↓ sVOCs, PFAS, metals — adsorbed on particle O H H VOC formaldehyde · free in air VOC benzene O O O O sVOC phthalate · adsorbed on particle F F F F F F F F O OH PFAS chemical compound · often classed as sVOC Pb 2+ HEAVY METAL lead · adsorbed Cd 2+ INSIDE A PM2.5 PARTICLE VOCs float freely · sVOCs, PFAS, and metals ride on surfaces · ~0.2–2 nm ~2 nm meanwhile, also moving through the air… blue light ~450 nm shorter wavelength · higher energy red light ~700 nm longer wavelength · lower energy WAVELENGTHS not chemical — emitted by LEDs and screens · 400–700 nm Rn 222 rises from soil through foundation RADIOACTIVE GAS radon-222 · atomic radius ~0.1 nm · colorless, odorless
What's Moving Through Your Home

Next: Part 3 — Making Sense of Conflicting Research ➜

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Learn ➜  Interior Medicine Method ➜  Part 2