Are the Toxins in Our Environment Making Us Sick?
- New research found that the wood burning stove is responsible for about half of people's exposure to cancer-causing chemicals, like PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons).
- The researchers found that 31% of yearly PAHs come from burning wood, mostly in the winter. It should be noted that some PAHs are more carcinogenic than others, and some carcinogens cause cancer.
- The National Cancer Institute estimates that as many as two-thirds of all cancer cases are linked to environmental causes.
These are important questions to ask yourself on the heels of new research coming out of Athens, Greece. It turns out, according to new research, the stoves that keep us warm in the winter (specifically in urban areas) are responsible for about half of people's exposure to cancer-causing chemicals that are found in air pollution particles.
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While this research was done in Greece halfway around the world it was found that the level of PAH pollution in Athens was the same as other studies conducted in European and North American cities. However, much higher levels were typically reported for cities in China.
Related: Are the Toxins in Our Environment Making Us Sick?
Researchers also noted that burning wood in the home is a "significant issue" for urban air quality across Europe and that excessive exposure to wood smoke could lead to severe health effects, such as cancer.
There are certain carcinogens that have been linked to an increased risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia, or AML.
For their study published in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics journal, the Athens-based researchers took samples of the air in the city every day for one year. The samples were then analyzed for 31 different PAHs, as well as other chemicals. The researchers found that 31% of yearly PAHs come from burning wood, mostly in the winter.
They further discovered that 33% of yearly PAHs come from diesel and oil, while 29% come from gasoline.
It should also be noted that some PAHs are more carcinogenic than others, and some carcinogens cause cancer by changing a cell's DNA, according to the American Cancer Society. Other carcinogens do not affect DNA directly, but lead to cancer in other ways.
The Wood Burning Stove: Are the Toxins in Our Environment Making Us Sick?
We are exposed to carcinogens throughout our daily lives. That can be in our food, as well as through our environment, such as a wood burning stove in our homes. But many people will not go on to develop cancer as a result of exposure.
"We create carcinogens all the time in our foods when we cook them, and very few of us get cancer because our bodies can handle them," Dr. Robert Wright, chair of the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at Mount Sinai, tells SurvivorNet during a previous interview. "But some people have susceptibilities to these environmental carcinogens, which might be genetic or might be caused by combinations of carcinogens."
It is important to understand that no one trigger is going to definitively cause cancer, Dr. Wright says, but it could be a combination of triggers in the environment.
"Cancer isn't caused by one event, typically, it's usually a series or combination of events," he adds. "It may be that you ate a lot of charred food, it may be that you're also a smoker, it may be that you've inherited a genetic susceptibility to be a little bit more sensitive to those chemicals."
Contributing: SurvivorNet staff
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