1) Kitchen fumes pollution (cancer-causing agents in the home environment).
Approximately 70% to 80% of a person’s life is spent indoors, and indoor air pollution affects their health. In many families, cooking on open fires and frying in oil are significant sources of indoor air pollution. In some impoverished areas, the kitchen and sleeping quarters are in the same room, or the stove is next to the bed, or the kitchen and bedroom are connected without separation.
The smoke from the stove and the oil fumes from the frying pan are all inside the kitchen. These fumes and oil smoke contain cancer-causing substances that are harmful to health and are one of the reasons why people get lung cancer. The polluted air in the kitchen can also spread to nearby rooms. Therefore, we advocate that stoves must have chimneys, the kitchen must be separated from the bedroom and resting room, and the kitchen should be well ventilated.
In many urban kitchens, coal gas, liquefied gas, and natural gas are burned, but sometimes the combustion is incomplete, polluting the air in the kitchen and nearby rooms. Therefore, it is necessary to always open the doors and windows of the kitchen, or install exhaust fans and range hoods to exhaust the polluted air outdoors and bring in fresh air.
2) Pollution from construction materials (cancer-causing agents in the home environment).
Many residents regard home decoration as a hotspot. Some paint, plastic veneer materials, floor adhesives, binders, coatings, rubber, synthetic fibers, and some luxurious building materials have become commonplace. Some substandard decoration materials mainly contain five toxic substances: formaldehyde, benzene, esters, trichloroethylene, and radon gas. Formaldehyde is a irritating toxic gas that irritates the eyes, skin, respiratory system, and nerves. After contacting a certain amount of formaldehyde, it may cause nasal cancer, laryngeal cancer, lung cancer, etc. Benzene can inhibit human hematopoiesis, leading to reduced red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Inhaling a large amount of benzene may cause leukemia, a blood cancer.
Esters and trichloroethylene mainly come from paint, binders, etc., and can cause conjunctivitis, laryngitis, etc. Therefore, if the above decoration materials are used, it is necessary to open the doors and windows during construction to ensure air circulation. After the decoration is completed, the house should be ventilated for 8 to 12 weeks or more to emit most of the harmful gases indoors before it can be safely inhabited.
Some soil and rocks contain radioactive nuclides that can release radon gas. Long-term exposure to a certain amount of radon gas can cause lung cancer, leukemia, and radiation sickness in humans.