Fumes from gas stoves carcinogenic, says study
A new Norwegian study is giving new meaning to the cliché “cooking with gas.” Apparently, many of us have been cooking too close to the proverbial flame; fumes from gas ranges, which the International Agency for Research on Cancer long ago deemed “probably carcinogenic” (talk about a blasé pronouncement), contain higher levels of cancer-causing agents than electric stoves.
The study was performed by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, who discovered that naphthalene—a banned substance found in mothballs—and mutagenic aldehydes were present when frying 17 pieces of steak for 15 minutes each under conditions “typical of Western restaurants.” Some believe the fumes can cause lung, bladder and cervical cancer, and research has found high cancer levels in chefs who cook without fume extractors. The study’s ingenious solution: reduce exposure as much as possible.
• Cooking with gas raises risk of lung cancer [New Zealand Herald]
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