Mosquito Coils May Cause Cancer

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 06 Sep 2003 - 0:00 PDT


Banned substance in coils may expose users to lung carcinogen RIVERSIDE, Calif. (USA) - (www.ucr.edu) - The mosquito coil made in some Asian countries that people often use to ward off mosquitoes may be releasing cancer-causing smoke, scientists at UC Riverside report in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The scientists - Bob Krieger, Travis Dinoff and Xiaofei Zhang of the department of entomology - sampled coils from Indonesia and Asian markets in Southern California and found that the contained "S-2" or octachlorodipropyl ether, banned for sale in the United States.

"It is very possible that the coils are exposing users to bischloromethyl ether, also called BCME, a potent lung carcinogen," said Krieger. "High exposure can occur if the coils are used overnight, as they often are."

Because of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus, the use of these mosquito coils may be on the increase. "These coils purchased in stores in the United States do not list S-2 as an ingredient," said Krieger. "This suggests that illegal, unregistered products are able to find their way into the American market."

For their research, the authors sampled more than 50 coils collected from Asia and California. "Next, we plan to measure levels of BCME in indoor environments where the coils are used," said Krieger. "We hope that epidemiologists will take an interest due to the number of people exposed and the potency of BCME."

Additional Contacts:

Bob Krieger

The University of California, Riverside offers undergraduate and graduate education to nearly 16,000 students and has a projected enrollment of 21,000 students by 2010.

It is the fastest growing and most ethnically diverse campus of the preeminent ten-campus University of California system, the largest public research university system in the world. The picturesque 1,200-acre campus is located at the foot of the Box Springs Mountains near downtown Riverside in Southern California. More information about UC Riverside is available at www.ucr.edu or by calling 909-787-5185. For a listing of faculty experts on a variety of topics, please visit http://mmr.ucr.edu/experts/.

News Media Contact:

Name: Iqbal Pittalwala
Phone: 909.787.2645
Email: iqbal@citrus.ucr.edu

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