Humans are inhaling a whole new class of substances in the air

According to Sicence Alert, in the time you are reading this article, you may have inhaled several billion molecules of organic hydrotrioxide into your lungs without realizing it. "These compounds have always existed. We didn't know about them before," said chemist Henrik Grum Kjærgaard from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

Earth's Atmosphere

Dr Kjærgaard's research team now has evidence that these mysterious compounds were formed continuously and for a short period of time in the atmosphere.

However, where organic hydrotrioxide comes from, what specific role it plays, and whether it can react to form a stable structure in the atmosphere is still an open question. Isoprene, an industrial gas, is considered the leading "suspect", which can generate about 10 million tons of hydrotrioxide per year.

In theory, any compound in the atmosphere could play a role in creating these entirely new compounds. Then within minutes or hours of existence, the hydrotrioxide continues to create other reactions, leading to other elements in our atmosphere.

"Most human activities lead to the release of chemicals into the atmosphere. So knowledge of the reactions that determine the chemistry of the atmosphere is very important if we are to be able to predict behaviour. How our actions will affect the atmosphere in the future" - Science Alert quoted chemist Kristan H. Møller, co-author.

The study has just been published in the journal Science.

•