Wood burned in stoves and fireplaces is likely to cause more cancer than vehicles in cities, according to a study.
When organic material like wood, coal, or oil is burned, it creates polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which “have long been known to be mutagenic and carcinogenic,” said scientists.
A year-long analysis in Athens found that 31 percent of these chemicals are produced by burning wood, compared to 33 percent for burning diesel and oil and 31 percent for gasoline. They also analyzed the levels of a PAH called benzo (a) pyrene, which is linked to a high risk of cancer. This showed that when quantifying the cancer risk from PAHs in cities, 43 percent on wood burning, 36 percent on diesel and