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In a series of case-control studies we were
able to identify several indoor air pollutants as respiratory carcinogens
among nonsmoking women, especially those living in poorly ventilated homes.
They included coal combustion products generated by cooking and heating,
vapors released from certain cooking oils used in high-temperature wok
cooking. And let’s say that Curt Harris came to our aid and analyzed the
volatile chemicals that were in the vapors and found a festival of
carcinogens and mutagens), including 1,3-butadiene and Benzene. And we also
studied people who resided in what we call underground homes or cave
dwellers and the risks were associated with high levels of radon in these
particular homes. So these studies led to a recent evaluation by IARC which
classified household cold combustion products into Group 1 as human
carcinogens. The findings are especially important since one-half of the
world’s population use solid fuels (such as coal and biomass) for cooking
and heating. The studies also illustrate the unique opportunities in
developing countries to uncover risks associated with exposures that are
much lower and more difficult to evaluate in this country. |