In China, the use of smoky coal for household cooking ups the risk of developing lung cancer, finds study.

About half the world's population uses coal and other solid fuels for cooking and heating, often in simple stoves that are unvented.
Exposure to certain types of solid fuel smoke is associated with several diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute respiratory infections, and lung cancer. However, the relationship between smoky coal use and lung cancer is not fully understood.
So an international team of researchers compared deaths from lung cancer between lifelong users of "smoky coal" and "smokeless coal" for household cooking and heating in Xuanwei County, Yunnan Provine, China, where lung cancer rates are particularly elevated.
In total, over 37,000 individuals were followed over a 20-year period (1976-96) during which time more than 2,000 deaths from lung cancer were recorded.
After taking account of other possible risk factors including tobacco use, lung cancer cases and deaths were substantially higher among users of smoky (i.e. bituminous) coal for home cooking and heating than users of smokeless (i.e. anthracitic) coal.
Advertisement
Lung cancer deaths were also associated with the average number of hours that a smoky coal user spent at home and the age at which participants started cooking.
Advertisement
As this chemical and physical composition of coal differs widely in different geographical locations, additional research is needed on the carcinogenicity of various types of coal, they add.
Source-Eurekalert