Our respiratory systems do a great job of protecting us, but they are no match for the smallest pollution particles created by the modern world.

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

• Alveolus: any of the many tiny air sacs of the lungs which allow for rapid gaseous exchange.
• Bronchiole: any of the minute branches into which a bronchus divides.
• PM 2.5: tiny particles or droplets in the air that are two and one half microns or less in width.
• PM 10: inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers and smaller.
• Nasopharynx: the upper part of the pharynx, connecting with the nasal cavity above the soft palate.

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CREDITS

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Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia Rius | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Aldo de Vos | Music

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OUR STAFF

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Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Alex Reich • Henry Reich • Peter Reich Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida

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REFERENCES

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“Data Review: How Many People Die from Air Pollution?” Our World in Data, ourworldindata.org/data-review-air-pollution-deaths

“Fine Particles (PM 2.5) Questions and Answers” www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/air/pmq_a.htm

Hiraiwa, Kunihiko, and Stephan F. van Eeden. “Contribution of Lung Macrophages to the Inflammatory Responses Induced by Exposure to Air Pollutants.” Mediators of Inflammation, vol. 2013, 2013, pp. 1–10, 10.1155/2013/619523.

Hofmann, Werner. “Modelling Inhaled Particle Deposition in the Human Lung—a Review.” Journal of Aerosol Science, vol. 42, no. 10, 1 Oct. 2011, pp. 693–724, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021850211000875, 10.1016/j.jaerosci.2011.05.007.

“Particle Deposition - an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.” Www.sciencedirect.com, www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/particle-deposition

Schwab, Jan-Alexander, and Matthias Zenkel. “Filtration of Particulates in the Human Nose.” The Laryngoscope, vol. 108, no. 1, Jan. 1998, pp. 120–124, 10.1097/00005537-199801000-00023

US EPA, OAR. “Indoor Particulate Matter.” US EPA, 15 Aug. 2014, https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/indoor-particulate-matter

US EPA, OAR. “Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Trends | US EPA.” US EPA, 19 July 2016, www.epa.gov/air-trends/particulate-matter-pm25-trends