ABSTRACT
House dust mites are microscopic creatures that feed on flakes of human skin that people shed naturally. The house dust mite therefore has a strong case to answer as a co-factor in the increase in the number of cases of people with asthma. Most of us spend more than 90% of our lives indoors, bathed in a sea of pollutants concentrated by the entrapped air, and exacerbated by the chemicals people add to kill the odours that people create. Chief among the polluters is the house dust mite. The number of houses in water debt is nine times greater now than when water privatization was introduced in 1989. Lead reaches us via drinking water, air, dust, food and paint. For populations living near hazardous waste sites, the main exposure route is from air-borne dusts and incinerator fallout. Ordinary landfill sites pollute groundwater and air.
