|
Killer mosquitoes or killer mosquito repellents?
Lighting up one mosquito coil could mean smoking over 100 cigarettes!
The most commonly used mosquito repellent, the mosquito coil, is not as useful
as it is thought to be. Studies have shown that the amount of formaldehyde released
on the burning of one coil equals that of 51 cigarettes, and the amount of fine
particles released equals the burning of 75-137 cigarettes.
Epidemiological studies reveal that long-term exposure to mosquito coil smoke
may induce asthma and persistent wheezing in children.
Besides formaldehydes, the study has identified several other compounds emitted
by the burning coil. These include fine particles, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs), aldehydes and ketones. Long term exposure to the compounds - even at
trace levels - could increase cancer risk. The study was conducted for six brands
of mosquito coils commonly used in China and Malaysia. Since the coils are made
to have very inefficient combustion, large amounts of products of incomplete
combustion are released from burning coils.
A comparison of the pollutant concentrations from the coils with those resulting
from biomass fuel combustion reveals that people exposed to smoke from mosquito
coils (even for a few years) are in greater danger of contracting respiratory
infections than those exposed to biomass smoke for an entire lifetime.
<< Previous Factfile | Next Factfile >>
|
