ECS::Combustible Pollutants - Prolonged Exposure will cause Cancer

Combustible Pollutants

Most of the combustible pollutants that may be in your home come from malfunctioning appliances that have either been improperly installed or are poorly vented, such as fireplaces, furnaces, wood or coal stoves, gas water heaters, gas clothes dryers, kerosene stoves or gas space heaters. Combustible pollutants also enter the environment from poorly regulated textile and metal factories.

The many ways that your own household appliances may endanger your health include:

The combustible gases from faulty appliances does not completely burn and emits harmful toxins that cause serious immediate ailments.
Igniting fireworks or burning charcoal indoors creates hazardous combustion byproducts.
A cracked furnace heat exchanger emits toxic combustion byproducts.
A fireplace or wood stove without a dedicated outdoor air supply causes pollutants to be "back drafted" from the chimney into the breathing zone of a home. Airborne irritants, such as soot from a fireplace, are released which are often known carcinogens (Cancer causing agent)
A poorly ventilated garage gathering exhaust fumes from automobile emissions being in close proximity to the fresh air intake or return vent of an HVAC system.

Although there have been problems with combustion byproduct in office and other non-residential buildings due to faulty venting, most cases happen within the home. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports incidents of individuals being poisoned by combustion byproducts usually occurring during the heating season. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has documented the effects of these byproducts as causing symptoms and maladies ranging from nausea and dizziness to cancer and death.

Malfunctioning or improperly vented heating devices often emit hazardous gases and airborne particles, the most common being carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Some common household products, such as paint strippers, contain methylene chloride which can be metabolized to form carbon monoxide. The most prevalent product of combustion found indoors is Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS).

The ways these toxins adversely affect your health are as follows:

Carbon Monoxide inhibits the distribution of oxygen throughout the body, causing damage similar to suffocating. In high doses, carbon monoxide can cause unconsciousness, long term brain damage, and death. In lower doses, this deadly, odorless, colorless gas can cause headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, confusion, fatigue, chest pains, chronic heart disease, and mimicked flu-like symptoms, often making CO poisoning difficult to diagnose for physicians. The first tissues to be affected are those with the highest need for oxygen, such as the brain or exercising muscles. Those that are particularly sensitive to elevated CO levels include the elderly, unborn fetuses, and those with cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.

Nitrogen dioxide(NO2) and Sulfur dioxide(CO2) affect the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, throat, and respiratory tract acting mainly as irritants to these sensitive surfaces. Although exposure to extremely high levels of Nitrogen Dioxide may lead to increased lung infections as well as permanent lung injury, prolonged exposure will contribute to the development of acute or chronic bronchitis. Increased risk of respiratory infections and irritation of the upper respiratory tract and eyes will also result. Young children, asthmatics, and patients with decreased lung function capabilities or chronic pulmonary diseases are at higher risk due to increased bronchial reactions that result from exposure to this toxin. Those with asthma or hyper sensitive respiratory systems may also experience acute SO2 related bronchial constriction.

The CDC states that particles released from fuels that are not completely burned can irritate or damage lung tissue. These pollutants attach to microscopic particles that are inhaled and are carried deep into the lungs where they are lodged, causing extensive damage. There has been much documentation supporting the fact that particles from combustion as well as other airborne particles cause or contribute to asthma and restrictive airway diseases. Radon and Benzopyrene - both of which are carcinogens - are just a couple of these hazardous pollutants.