In Sudan, a poor young mother caring for her children gets up before dawn. She spends a considerable amount of time finding wood, only to return to her home and prepare their meal. Doing so puts her at risk of kidnapping, rape, and murder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She can spend hours a day collecting wood to cook the meals, and just as much time in a poorly ventilated makeshift kitchen, breathing in smoke that would be equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the World Health Organization<\/a>, 1.6 million deaths per year are associated with indoor air pollution related to poorly ventilated kitchens<\/strong>, or one death every 20 seconds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In developed countries, a young mother (even one of low means) has a distinct advantage over women in underdeveloped countries. They have access to cleaner fuels<\/a> to cook with, have better ventilation, and do not have to spend as much time in a kitchen, breathing in cooking fumes. They also aren\u2019t in physical danger when they go out to collect fuel to cook with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the apparent differences, mothers at home with their children are still exposed to a significant amount of indoor air pollution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n An Oklahoma resident recently recounted her experience with indoor air pollution and its effect on her small family. Anna said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n My son was five years old and had always been very healthy. Then we moved out of state. Instead of the electric stove we were accustomed to cooking with, we had gas appliances. Before long, we were making routine trips to the emergency room and giving our son breathing treatments twice daily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We couldn\u2019t understand what would cause such a drastic change in our son’s health in such a short period. Finally, our doctor realized the problem. Our new home was older than our previous one, and the gas appliances and poor ventilation were at the root of his health problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once we upgraded our appliances and installed better ventilation in our kitchen, his health greatly improved<\/strong>. We had our healthy and happy little boy back.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Anna\u2019s experience was not an isolated case. The American Journal of Epidemiology published a study<\/a> in 2000 discussing the high rate of lung cancer in Taiwanese women, of which only 4% smoked. Here are some of their findings: <\/p>\n\n\n\n This study was done on Taiwanese women living in Taiwan, the Republic of China. These women were not smokers, though it is fair to note that some were exposed to secondhand smoke and are more likely than women in the United States to cook at home. Many of these women live in high rises, which also compounds the effects of cooking with poor ventilation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Using a range hood significantly affected<\/strong> the number of chemicals these women were exposed to. Still, due to a wide range of effectiveness among different range hoods and the risk of displacement, it could not eliminate the risk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n UC Berkeley has also researched the effects cooking has on the indoor pollution of a home. Their study<\/a> found that 60% of homes in California that cook at least once a week with a gas stove could exceed legal pollution standards. Unfortunately, these standards only apply outdoors, and no one is held accountable for the levels found in homes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the dangerous pollutants in the home related to cooking were formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide. One significant finding was that range hoods are not all created equally. Price is not always the determining factor, but some were quite ineffective, while others could eliminate up to 95% of pollutants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some tips they offered regarding using a range hood are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The head researcher, Brett Singer, stated, \u201cWe want systems that don\u2019t require people to turn things on. When your water heater comes on, the exhaust gases go outside, and you don\u2019t have to flip a switch. It should be the same in the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to creating high levels of pollutants in-home, and being linked to cancer, there is also evidence that not having good ventilation can create respiratory problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\nHow kitchen pollutants can negatively affect your health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
How to reduce the exposure to kitchen toxins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tips on using a range hood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
A kitchen without a range hood can lead to respiratory problems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n