Gord
They say that 80% of smell is particulate, in other words a solid. Acrylics, corian, inlay stones/metals, and the stuff they use to stabilize wood is inorganic. If you can smell it there is an 80% chance you are breathing in some kind of dust, very small grains, of these products. The fact that they are inorganic means that your body/lungs can not process them back out like regular wood dust, an organic compound, and therefore will build up over time causing respritory problems.
I am in complete denial on all of the above. I do alot of inlay and turn alot of stabilized bottle stoppers. This was a discussion my lovely wife had with a doctor at our table while at the 2006 AAW Symposium banquet. That meeting combined with constant nagging of one of my closer friends in the local club have diverted much of my turning spending toward dust collection/control over the past year. Without that conversation I would have a vacume chuck by now, oh well.
So Gord, This story doesn't help ease your concerned housemate, sorry.
Frank