>How much junk do you think you inhale while you're driving
>around, stuck in traffic?
>
>A fair amount of carbon monoxide, which reversibly binds to
>various oxygen-binding proteins, but below a threshold the off
>rate clears it out of your system soon enough. That
>experience is harmless long-term, though it could trigger
>asthma/etc. and generally isn't pleasureable. A fair amount
>of incinerated material that was fairly pure to begin with,
>burnt at a high temperature, and passed through a catalytic
>converter. Some NOx and SOx, which may trigger allergies or
>do environmental harm, but aren't cancer threats. Some
>particulate matter, which your lungs do clear efficiently.

Um, you forgot this one :

"Oxides of nitrogen in the exhaust gas may react with PAHs to form highly carcinogenic nitro-PAHs."

Link

>How much do you think you inhale when you're out camping by
>an open fire?
>
>Leafy green matter in the fire? Probably not good. I don't
>camp, though. Charcoal? See above-- primarily carbon
>monoxide and particulates.
>
>Burnt meat or veggies? Low doses of potentially bad stuff. I
>err on the side of rare for flavor reasons, but it means I'm
>taking more chances with food poisoning and less with that.

High concentrations of carbon, some amounts of PAH. I didn't feel like shelling out $30 for the article, but if you feel like it, by all means, let us know what it says. Frankly, it does deposit the same black stuff in your lungs that everyone freaks out about, if you inhaled enough of it.

>How much do you inhale when you're spraypainting something,
>or cleaning your house?
>
>If I'm spraypainting, very little, because I'm wearing a
>disposable mask. If I'm cleaning my house, I'm primarily
>inhaling detergent/surfactant aerosols and solvents (ammonia,
>etc.) that don't scare me. Household cleaners have to pass a
>reasonably tight standard of carcinogenicity to get approved,
>particularly because they're expected to be used in areas with
>children.

You're also not going into dust and other common household pollutants. I forgot to mention the interior of your car...the dashboard often breaks down and you inhale small amounts of plastics which would render a workplace inhospitable, yet some people sit for 3 hours a day in their vehicle, or more.

>
>Now how much do you think you inhale casually walking past
>someone who is smoking on a street corner?
>
>A low dose of incompletely burned natural product, relatively
>high in chemicals I don't want anywhere near my lungs, because
>they've been proven to cause cancer in low doses. Being
>outdoors mitigates that dosage considerably, so it doesn't
>bother me much. Indoors? Different story. I wouldn't run my
>barbecue or start a campfire indoors either.
>
>Smoke isn't smoke isn't smoke.

Heh, well, I can see you've drawn your conclusion (ignorantly, but since when does that stop anyone?). So, I won't bother arguing with you, but its worth noting that a lot of the stuff you say here is crap. Sucking in exhaust fumes, for one, isn't harmless. The stuff you say about sitting next to someone indoors who is smoking giving you cancer is garbage as well. If you want to just make stuff up, by all means, but don't do it under the pretext of science.

>valguarnera@carrionfields.com