Meet Ohio eighth-grader Archishman Dey who tested 5 household sources; incense produced most PM2.5

Ohio eighth-grader Archishman Dey’s experiment reveals incense produced the highest PM2.5 pollution among five household sources. (Photo: Society for Science) An eighth-grader from Solon, Ohio, is drawing attention to an often-overlooked source of air pollution - the air inside our homes. Archishman Dey, a student at Solon Middle School, conducted a science project examining how common household activities affect levels of PM2.5, or fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter.His experiment tested five everyday sources - an air fryer, candle, humidifier, natural gas and incense. Of these, burning an incense stick produced the highest level of PM2.5 in his experiment.Archishman Dey explains why he studied indoor air pollutionArchishman said his project was inspired by his concern about the air people breathe inside their homes.“When people think about air pollution, they usually imagine cars, factories, or smoke stacks outdoors, which we classify as ambient air pollution. But what if I told you that the air in your kitchen, right inside of your home, can sometimes be more polluted than the air outside?” he said in his project video.He explained that PM2.5 r...