A new study explored the link between the use of the gas stove and the risk of cancer.
He found that using the gas stove without appropriate ventilation increases the risk of cancer in adults, but especially in children.
Continue to read for more details on how to mitigate risks.
The debate on the gas stove against electric is polarizing for many reasons, especially for home managers, but there is a battle that gas cannot really win: benzene, flammable liquid and known carcinogen. A new study has revealed that gas stoves considerably increase the risk of cancer, especially in children.
Meet the experts: Joe Mignone, MD, oncologist and co-founder of Survivorrx; And Daniel Landau, MD, oncologist, hematologist and contributor to Mesothelioma Center on Asbestos.com.
The risk is also present for adults, but is particularly high for children. Continue to read to find out exactly why and what the results mean for people with fuel cooking tables.
What does the study found?
Although the study did not follow humans and followed the number of gas cooks and the number of cancer developed, the researchers used Contam, a program developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to analyze and simulate benzene concentration distributions in 24 home floor plans provided by data from American housing actions. To ensure that their benzene emission level estimates were precise, the researchers used six test houses and measured the benzene concentration after four to eight hours of emissions were produced and used these measures to validate the results of Contam.
Use of low, medium and high stoves – reflecting the number of burners used, their flame intensity and the duration of cooking – were compared with and without ventilated conditions (i.e. open vents, ventilation hood). The use of the average stove most precisely represented the average cooking trends in most houses, with a burner set to an average flame used for 30 minutes in the morning, and two used during the same time in the evening. Researchers have measured the risk of cancer using human health risk assessment of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a four-step process used to estimate the nature and probability of negative health effects from contaminated environments.
In short, the study revealed that high use of gas stove without appropriate ventilation considerably increases the risk of cancer, especially for children. Using often exceeds the limits of the increasing risk of life cancer (ILTCR) set by the World Health Organization (WHO), the study revealed. In fact, the risk of children’s cancer by exposure to the gas stove has proven to be 1.85 times higher than that of adults “due to their higher air intake compared to body size”, explains Joe Mignone, MD, oncologist and co-founder of Survivorrx.
“This study highlights a critical but often neglected health problem: pollution of the indoor air of gas stoves,” adds Dr. Mignone. “It reveals that the gas stoves emit benzene – a known carcinogen – not only during use, but even when it is disabled. Alarm, the levels of detected benzene can be comparable to those found in used smoke or almost heavy traffic.”
The study also revealed that high -efficiency hoods considerably reduced exposure to benzene.
What limits did the study had?
House data was based on 87 houses located in California and Colorado, “which may not represent the diversity of housing, climates and cooking practices across the United States,” said Dr. Mignone. These houses also had poor ventilation, “potentially reflecting the worst conditions rather than typical household situations,” he adds.
Also: “We cannot necessarily conclude that the only factor involved in the risk of cancer would be the stoves”, explains Daniel Landau, MD, oncologist, hematologist and contributor for the mesothelioma center of asbestos.com. “We cannot conclude that the other factors were not involved which could also have contributed to the development of cancer.”
How gas stoves can increase the risk of cancer
“Exposure to benzene has been linked to just about all types of cancer, including leukemia, lymphoma, bladder cancer and others,” said Dr. Landau. WHO states that there is no safe security to it. He is known to damage DNA, “and these DNA breaks can cause cancers while the body tries to heal,” he explains. In other words, when DNA divides and recovers, it does it abnormally. “The body does not recognize the error, then the beginning of the production of abnormal cells which are cancerous,” concludes Dr. Landau.
The study revealed that people with gas cooks without appropriate ventilation were most at risk of developing cancer.
“Children can be more at risk of cancer development from benzene because their DNA is divided faster than adult DNA,” said Dr. Landau. “There is also more time for cancers to develop when exhibitions occur at a younger age.”
In addition, the study said that children presented higher inhalation rates compared to their lower overall body weights, which means that the concentration of exposure to benzene was higher than that of adults.
The bottom line
If you have a gas stove, appropriate ventilation is crucial, say the DRS. Landau and cute. “The opening of the windows, using the vent above the stove, activating a fan and using air purifiers are all excellent means to mitigate this risk,” adds Dr. Mignone. This is particularly crucial for cancer survivors and those who have an already increased risk of cancer, he adds.
The results of the study are also a good reminder of the various interior pollutants to which we are generally exposed which can contribute to the development of cancer. “Let us keep in mind other risks of benzenes in houses, including gas chimneys, domestic paintings, varnishes, adhesives and certain cleaning agents,” explains Dr. Mignone. “Garages with stored petrol, paintings or solvents can all contribute to exposure and increased risk.”
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