ISS dust found to be highly contaminated with chemicals

In a new study conducted by the University of Birmingham in partnership with NASA’s Glenn Research Centre, scientists analysed a sample of dust from air filters within the ISS. The team found levels of organic contaminants which were higher than the median values found in US and Western European homes.

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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). The work is published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters.

“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,” said study co-author Professor Stuart Harrad, from the University of Birmingham. 

“While concentrations of organic contaminants discovered in dust from the ISS often exceeded median values found in homes and other indoor environments across the US and Western Europe, levels of these compounds were generally within the range found on Earth.”