How Much Money Is Spent On Incense Sticks In A Year

• Journal List
• Clin Mol Allergy
• 5.half-dozen; 2008
• PMC2377255

Clin Mol Allergy. 2008; 6: iii.

Incense fume: clinical, structural and molecular effects on airway disease

Ta-Chang Lin

¹Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

²Sustainable Environs Research Middle, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

Guha Krishnaswamy

ⁱⁱⁱDepartment of Internal Medicine, James H. Quillen Higher of Medicine, Eastward Tennessee State Academy, Johnson City, TN, Us

David S Chi

³Department of Internal Medicine, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA

Received 2008 Jan 3; Accepted 2008 Apr 25.

Abstruse

In Asian countries where the Buddhism and Taoism are mainstream religions, incense burning is a daily exercise. A typical composition of stick incense consists of 21% (by weight) of herbal and wood powder, 35% of fragrance material, 11% of adhesive pulverisation, and 33% of bamboo stick. Incense fume (fumes) contains particulate matter (PM), gas products and many organic compounds. On average, incense burning produces particulates greater than 45 mg/k burned every bit compared to ten mg/g burned for cigarettes. The gas products from burning incense include CO, CO₂, NO₂, Then₂, and others. Incense burning as well produces volatile organic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, and xylenes, as well as aldehydes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The air pollution in and effectually diverse temples has been documented to have harmful furnishings on health. When incense fume pollutants are inhaled, they cause respiratory system dysfunction. Incense fume is a risk factor for elevated string claret IgE levels and has been indicated to cause allergic contact dermatitis. Incense smoke too has been associated with tumour and extracts of particulate matter from incense fume are found to be mutagenic in the Ames Salmonella test with TA98 and activation. In order to prevent airway disease and other health problem, it is advisable that people should reduce the exposure time when they worship at the temple with heavy incense smokes, and ventilate their house when they burn down incense at home.

Introduction

Encyclopedia Britannica states that incense was employed to counteract bellicose odors, bulldoze away demons, manifest the presence of gods, and to appease gods. Incense burning has been practiced for centuries. Early on Christian churches used incense in the Eucharistic anniversary, in which it symbolized the ascent of the prayers of the faithful and the merits of the saints. Later, incense was employed sporadically in the Church of England. Elsewhere in both Eastern and Western Catholic Christendom, its apply during divine worship and during processions has been continuous [1]. In Asian countries where the Buddhism and Taoism are mainstream religions, such equally Mainland china, Thailand, and Taiwan, incense burning is a daily practice.

In Taiwan, about half of its population (23 million) is Buddhist or Taoist. Most of them burn incense daily when they worship at habitation. The people in Taiwan also worship with incenses at temples regularly. In 2003, the Ecology Protection Agency in Taiwan reported that a total of 28.vii metric tons of incense was burned in 92 temples in Kao-Hsiong City [2]. It is equivalent to 0.86 kg/temple/solar day. Currently, there are 11,503 registered temples in Taiwan [three]. It is estimated that at least a total of 3,580 tons of incense is consumed yearly in the temples in Taiwan. During the Lunar New year and other religious festivals, a huge amount of incense is burned in temples (Figure ​ 1). If household incense burning is included, the incense consumption in Taiwan may even double or triple that estimated corporeality and it may indicate an environmental hazardous situation.

Incense burning during Lunar New year in the Long-Shang Temple in Taipei, Taiwan. Apaprently, the dumbo incense smoke inflicted irritation in the eyes of a worshiper (photograph past T. C. Lin).

The air pollution in and around various temples has been documented [iv-12]. The effects of incense fume on airway illness and wellness also have been reported. This article volition review: the nature of incenses and incense burning, pollutants emitted from incense called-for, and effects of incense fume on airway disease and wellness.

The nature of incenses and incense burning

In that location are diverse forms of incenses, including sticks, joss sticks, cones, coils, powders, rope, rocks/charcoal, and smudge bundles [13]. The main difference between the first two forms is that the old has a slender bamboo base, onto which the mixture of incense ingredients is attached, while the latter is without a key base. Effigy ​ two shows v major forms of Asian incense, among them stick incense is the most pop in Taiwan.

Forms of incense. Major forms of incense are shown, including powder, roll, cone, joss stick, and stick. (photo by T. C. Lin).

Depending on its makers and local custom, incense sticks have several commercially available types, such equally Chen Shan (Shan ways incense), Gui Shan, Hsing Shan, Lao Shan, and Liao Shan. Yet, the physical characteristics of these incenses, such every bit length and diameter of the bamboo stick (average 39.five and 0.4 cm, respectively), length and bore of the incense coated function (average 28.v and 2.7 cm, respectively), and weight of the whole stick (average 1.3 gm), are very like [14]. While the verbal content of incense sticks is a commercial secret, virtually incense is fabricated from a combination of fragrant gums, resins, woods powders, herbs and spices.

A typical composition of stick incense consists of 21% (by weight) of herbal and wood pulverisation, 35% of fragrance material, eleven% of agglutinative pulverisation, and 33% of bamboo stick [15]. Herbal and wood powders used in incense making include Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. (Leguminosae), Cinnamomum cassia Bl. (Lauraceae), Nardostachys chinensis Bastal. (Valerianaceae), Foeniculum vulgare Manufactory. (Umbelliferae), Rheum officinale Baill. (Polygonaceae), Radix Aucklandia. (Daisy family), Asarum siebolidii Miq. (Aristolochiaceae), Magnolia liliiflora Desr. (Magnoliaceae), Eugenia caryophyllata Thumb. (Myrtaceae), and Ocimum basilicum L. (Labiatae) [fifteen]. Some of these materials are also used in Chinese traditional medicine. Fragrance materials used in incense source from Lysimachia foenum-graecum. (Primulaceae), Juniperus chinensis L. var. Kaizuka Hort. (Cupressaceae), Liquidambar formosana Hance. (Hamamelidaceae), Santalum album L. (Santalaceae), Musk ambrette, musk ketone, and musk xylene. Adhesive Powder is from the bawl of Machilus nanmu Hemsl. (Lauraceae). To make incenses, ane finish of a bamboo stick is offset soaked in adhesive materials earlier it is coated with a mixture of fragrance, herbal and wood powders. This coating procedure is repeated 2 more times. Incenses are and then dried under the sun.

Traditionally, incense burning usually involves iii or more sticks simultaneously. Information technology will take from 50 to 90 minutes to burn a stick of incense. When incense is burning, it emits smoke (fumes) containing particulate matter (PM), gas products and other organic compounds. Once the incense coating section has burned completely, the burning extinguishes itself at the tip of the bare bamboo part of the stick. The gas products from burning incense include CO, CO₂, NO₂, Then₂, and others. Incense called-for likewise produces volatile organic compounds, such every bit benzene, toluene, and xylenes, as well as aldehydes and polycyclic effluvious hydrocarbons (PAHs), which generally are absorbed on particle affair.

Major types of air pollutants in incense smoke and their toxicological furnishings

People who are exposed to incense fumes e'er inhale the whole circuitous mixture that contains particulate affair, gas products and many organic compounds. It is therefore difficult, if non impossible, to single out the health effects contributed by a certain component in the fumes. For instance, there hasn't been whatsoever written report about the ill effects on human health directly caused past the particles per se in the incense fume.

Nevertheless, it's all the same helpful to know the composition of incense smoke in terms of types of pollutants and the corresponding toxicological effects – fifty-fifty though these cited effects were obtained from non-incense studies on air pollutants in general.

1. Particulate matter (PM)

From practical considerations of the health furnishings, air particulates are usually categorized co-ordinate to how deep they tin can penetrate into the man respiratory system. Fibroid particles are those greater than ten μm in diameter. They are also large to enter the human respiratory organization, hence causing no immediate threat. Particles less than 10 μm in diameter (PM_x) pose a health business concern because when inhaled they can accumulate in the respiratory system. Particles in the range 10 to two.5 μm are known equally the thoracic coarse particles (PM_10-2.5) [16]. Particles less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM_2.5) are referred to as fine particles and are believed to pose the largest health risks because they tin go every bit deep as the alveoli [17,18]. Particles less than 0.1 μm are called ultrafine particles [nineteen].

Since people who are exposed to incense smoke ever inhale a complex mixture of both gaseous and particulate products from the incense, information technology is difficult to single out the wellness furnishings of incense particles lone. Then far, in that location hasn't been any report about the ill effects on human health directly acquired by the particles per se in the incense smoke. Epidemiological studies have reported associations between air particulate matter (especially the fine particles) and several acute health effects, including mortality, hospital admissions, respiratory symptoms, and lung dysfunction [20-25]. The USEPA 2004 Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter conclusion states that PM_10-2.v exposure was associated with respiratory morbidity [26,27].

The combustion of incense, forest, cigarette, and candles is important or even major sources of residential indoor particulate matter, especially in the two.5 μm size range and below [4-half-dozen,4,xiii,28-30]. Mannix et al. reported that called-for incense could generate large quantities of PM. On boilerplate, information technology produces PM greater than 45 mg/g burned, as compared to 10 mg/g burned for the cigarettes [31]. Lin et al. measured 1,316 and 73 μg/mⁱⁱⁱ, respectively, for the mean indoor and outdoor total suspended particulate (TSP) concentrations at 1 Taiwanese temple [7]. In a report of the indoor air pollution in Taiwan, Liao et al. [32] establish that incense burning had size integrated source emission rates of 0.038 ± 0.026 particles/second. For indoor particles ranging from 0.5 to 5 μm, 62–92% is from indoor sources, including cooking, incense burning, and other residential activities. Information technology is important to know that addition of calcium carbonate in incense tin finer suppress the particulate emission past as much as 40%; hence calcium carbonate may make the incense safer to apply [14].

2. Gaseous emissions

ii.one. Carbon monoxide (CO)

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, yet poisonous gas generally formed during incomplete combustion of organic substances, such as hydrocarbons, wood, incense, cigarette, and fossil fuels. CO combines with haemoglobin much more readily than oxygen, by a factor of 200–300, hence reduces the blood's chapters to transport oxygen. Inhalation of CO in low concentrations can crusade headaches, dizziness, weakness and nausea, while high concentrations tin can be fatal [33].

2.2. Sulfur dioxide (Then_two) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)

Wellness furnishings of exposures to sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide can include reduced piece of work capacity, bedevilment of existing cardiovascular diseases, effects on pulmonary office, respiratory illnesses, lung irritation, and alterations in the lung's defense system [34].

2.3. Volatile organic compounds

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemicals that take low humid points and therefore evaporate easily at room temperature. Common VOCs include benzene, toluene, xylenes, and isoprene. Acute symptoms of VOC exposures are: eye irritation/watering, olfactory organ irritation, throat irritation, headaches, nausea/airsickness, dizziness, and asthma exacerbation. Chronic symptoms of VOC exposure are: cancer, liver harm, kidney damage, central nervous organization damage [35].

Löfroth et al. [28] found that smoking and incense called-for generates CO, isoprene and benzene. Lee et al. [36] burned incense in a large environmental chamber. They institute that, while the benzene and toluene levels recommended past the Indoor Air Quality Objectives for Office Buildings in Hong Kong (HKIAQO, 1999) are xvi.1 and 1,092 μg/k^three, respectively, the measured benzene concentrations of all tested incense were significantly higher than the standard.

2.4. Aldehydes

Near materials produce aldehydes and ketones during combustion. Called-for incense is also known to generate aerosols and formaldehyde [37,36,40]. Lin and Tang investigated the content of particulates in Chinese incense smoke and found that acrolein, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were predominantly adsorbed on particulates, specially those particulates with size of 3.3–4.7 μm and 2.1–3.3 μm. [39].

Aldehydes are volatile organic compounds typically characterized past their irritating properties, especially the low molecular weight, the halogenated aliphatic, and the unsaturated aldehydes. In add-on to irritating skin, eyes and the upper respiratory tract, aldehydes besides affect nasal mucous membranes and oral passages, producing a burning awareness, bronchial constriction, choking, and cough [41].

Exposures to formaldehyde are of concern because formaldehyde is a potent sensory irritant and is classified as a likely human being carcinogen [42]. Black et al. reported that both wood dust and formaldehyde tin can impair mucociliary clearance [43]. Epidemiological studies take correlated wood dust and formaldehyde with nasal cancer [44,45]. Wood dust that carries formaldehyde enhances the toxicity of formaldehyde when the wood grit is intercepted and dissolved in water in the nasal cavity [46].

2.5. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The smoke emitted by incense burning has been found to incorporate polycyclic effluvious hydrocarbons (PAHs) [vii,8,xiv,47-52]. In Taiwan, temples are typically heavily polluted by incense smoke, particularly during special festivals, such every bit the Chinese New year's day or the birthdays of worshiped gods. A temple was reported to have mean total-PAH concentrations of 6,258 ng/m3 and 231 ng/mⁱⁱⁱ in its indoor and outdoor air, respectively; indicating that PAH concentrations of the temple'south inside air were 27 times college than that of its outside air. The pinnacle five private PAHs having the highest concentrations (particle-bound + gas phase) were identified every bit acenaphthylene (three,583 ng/m³), naphthalene (ane,264 ng/grand³), acenaphthene (349 ng/chiliad³), fluoranthene (243 ng/m³) and phenanthrene (181 ng/chiliad³) [seven]. In a study of one Swiss church building, in which incense was burned, PAHs were constitute in sedimented dusts, indicating that incense was peradventure the most significant source [53]. It as well has been shown that called-for incense is associated with increased levels of PAHs in homes [47,54]. In a comparison written report of incense burning, Lung and Hu reported that ii kinds of incense sticks generated, 17.1 ug and 25.two ug of particle-leap PAHs, and 19.viii mg and 43.half dozen mg of particles per gram of incense burned, respectively [55]. It appears that different types of incense produce various amounts of PAHs.

2.6. Diethylphthalate (DEP)

In India, diethylphthalate is used extensively in the incense stick industry as a binder of perfumes. Information technology can be emitted into the air during incense burning. Eggert and Hansen reported that DEP emission from various incense could exist as high as 16,365 μg/m³ in concentration and xiii,582 μg/unit of incense [56].

Diethylphthalate (DEP), used as a plasticizer and a detergent base, is a suspect carcinogen. Sonde et al. studied the interactive toxicity of DEP with ethyl alcohol (EtOH) in immature male Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were given 50 ppm DEP (w/5), v% EtOH (v/v), or a combined dose of 50 ppm DEP (w/5) + EtOH (5% five/v) in water ad libitum for a period of 120 days and were maintained on normal diet. The controlled rats received normal diet and plain water. No interaction of DEP with EtOH was found. Yet, significantly altered lipid and enzyme levels in the liver and serum were found in the DEP-fed group. It was concluded that DEP alone leads to astringent impairment of lipid metabolism coupled with toxic injury to the liver [57].

Effects of incense smoke on airway affliction and wellness

Like second hand smoke, pollutants emitted from incense burning in a shut environment are harmful to man health. Every bit mentioned above, particulate matters, and some of volatile organic compounds, musk ketones, musk xylenes, and musk ambrette, aldehydes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, diethylphthalate (DEP) are toxic to the lung and allergenic to the pare and eyes. While it is relatively difficult to direct study the effect of incense fume pollutants on health, several epidemiological studies have suggested that they exercise cause health bug.

1. Airway dysfunction

Well-nigh obviously, when incense smoke pollutants are inhaled, they will cause respiratory dysfunction. In 1966, Sturton et al reported a high incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Hong Kong in male patients who burn incense as compared with the other cancerous cases that were used as controls. They found that 74.v% of the studied nasopharyngeal cancer cases and 52% of all other malignant cases were exposed to incense fume and suggested the possibility that incense fume may be a factor in the etiology of this malignant disease [58].

In order to decide whether indoor environmental factors afflicted respiratory dysfunction, Yang et al. take surveyed 4,164 elementary school children in several rural areas in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. They found that, amid the other chemical factors, incense called-for and musquito repellant called-for were significantly associated with cough symptoms [59]. Since people working in temples may exist exposed to loftier levels of air pollutants from incense called-for, Ho et al. accept investigated the prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms and acute irritative symptoms amongst 109 temple workers in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. They concluded that working in a temple increases the risk for the development of acute irritative respiratory symptoms, including nose and pharynx irritation [60]. The adjusted odds ratios calculated for acute irritative symptoms in temple workers relative to the controls are 4.5 for throat irritation and 4.14 for nose irritation. Furthermore, chronic coughing symptoms were significantly more common among the temple workers than those from the non-incense burning church, the command group.

Alarifi et al. take used rats to study the event of incense fume on the lung. Rats were exposed to Arabian mix incense, Ma'amoul, for 14-weeks at a charge per unit of 4 grams/day in the exposure chamber. At the stop of the exposure menses, lung tissues were removed and candy for electron microscopy. It was noticed that alveolar pneumocytes of the exposed animals had significant ultrastructural changes which involved the cell organelles and surfactant material of blazon Two cells. Neutrophil infiltration into the alveolar lumena was found to accompany degenerative and necrotic changes of the alveolar lining cells. Alveolar walls too revealed deposition of collagen fibrils which contributed in its thickening. They concluded that exposure to Ma'amoul incense could induce ultrastructural pulmonary changes which may imply compromised respiratory efficiency [61]. Similar ultrastructural pulmonary changes have also been reported in rats exposed to Bakhour, an Arabian incense [62].

It is interesting to notation that in several epidemiological studies, incense burning had shown no harmful event. In their study of the clan of indoor and outdoor ecology exposures and physician-diagnosed asthma, Lee et al. surveyed 35,036 6- to 15-twelvemonth-one-time schoolhouse children in Taiwan. They reported that daily cigarette consumption in families and incense called-for at dwelling showed negative effects to the occurrence of childhood asthma. They proposed a possible explanation for their finding; cigarette smoking and incense use might accept been decreased in families with children with atopic affliction and thus had less atopic asthma [63]. In some other study, Koo et al., analyzed data from an air pollution cross-sectional written report of 346 primary school children and their 293 non-smoking mothers, and a lung cancer instance-control study of 189 female patients and 197 commune matched controls. They found that at that place was no association between exposure to incense burning and respiratory symptoms similar chronic cough, chronic sputum, chronic bronchitis, runny nose, wheezing, asthma, allergic rhinitis, or pneumonia among the principal school children, their non-smoking mothers, or district matched controls. Incense called-for as well did not affect lung cancer gamble among non-smokers, but it significantly reduced run a risk among smokers, even after adjusting for lifetime smoking amount. They suggested a likely explanation for this unexpected finding: incense burning was associated with certain dietary habits, i.e. more than fresh fish, more retinol, and less booze, which have been associated with lower lung cancer chance in this population. Thus, their results indicate that diet can be a meaning confounder of epidemiological studies on air pollution and respiratory health [64].

2. Allergy and Dermatological Furnishings

Lin et al. studied umbilical cord blood IgE (cIgE) in 334 mother and neonate pairs. They constitute that incense burning was a risk factor for elevated cIgE [65]. Lead exposure could stimulate the IgE product [66]. The concentrations of lead accept been detected at 0.14 and 0.21 mg/g in PM_2.5 and PM_2.5–ten in the sample nerveless at ane temple in Taiwan, respectively. It is speculated that lead emitted from incense burning could be absorbed on PM_ii.5 and PM_2.5–10 and subsequently transferred to fetal blood and modulated the fetal allowed organization with IgE production. However, the authors have non yet proved the relationships between incense burning, cord blood lead, and string claret IgE levels [65].

As indicated in the previous department, incense smoke cause morphological changes of alveolar pneumocytes and infiltration of neutrophils into alveolar lumena in experimental rats [61,62]. Activation of resident and recruited inflammatory cells can pb to elaboration of a plethora of mediators, culminating in airway inflammation and remodeling. Recent studies suggest that a dominance of the Th2 blazon cytokines (IL-4, IL-five, IL-10 and IL-13) may exist pivotal to asthma pathogenesis [67-71]. Th2 cytokines by regulating IgE grade switching also as inducing humoral immunity, would beal allergic respiratory disease. While cytokines such as IL-4 and IL-thirteen are crucial to production of IgE by B lymphocytes, others such as IL-v are essential to eosinophil hematopoiesis, activation and survival in tissue. Numerous factors, including incense smoke, may contribute to the development of the Th1-Th2 imbalance [72-75], and the interaction between the innate and adaptive immune systems may lead to inflammatory changes and airway remodeling [76].

Incense burning smoke has also been associated with dermatological problems. Hayakawa et al. reported a 63-year-old patient, who had practiced incense ceremony for about fifteen years, and was establish to have itchy depigmented macules on his dorsum hand, left shoulder and abdomen. A 48 h closed path testing revealed perfume in the incense was the cause. Information technology was suggested that the perfume and airborne particles from the burning incense contacted the skin and caused the allergic contact dermatitis accompanied past depigmentation [77]. In improver, the same grouping besides reported cases of contact dermatitis due to long-term exposure to musk ambrette vaporized from incense burning [78].

3. Neoplasm

Extracts of particulate thing from incense smoke are found to exist mutagenic in the Ames Salmonella exam with TA98 and activation. This suggests that incense burning can crusade indoor air pollution and thus cancer alike to that from cigarette smoking [28]. To study the causes of leukemia, Lowengart et al. investigated a group of children of ages 10 years and under in Los Angeles Canton. The mothers and fathers of acute leukemia cases and their individually matched controls were interviewed regarding specific occupational and home exposures as well as other potential take a chance factors associated with leukemia. Analysis of the data from the 123 matched pairs showed an increased gamble of leukemia for children whose parents burned incense at home. Furthermore, the risk was greater for more frequent users [79].

Incense smoke contains diverse N-nitroso compounds, which have been shown to be stiff nervous organization carcinogens, peculiarly when animals are exposed transplacentally [80]. Preston-Martin et al. studied mothers of 209 young encephalon tumor patients and 209 control subjects. They found that increased brain tumor run a risk was associated with maternal contact with nitrosamine-containing substances such as burning incense, side-stream cigarette smoke, and face makeup [81]. However, alien data on the result of incense called-for smoke on neoplasm have also been reported.

Several studies have shown at that place is no association between incense fume and cancer. In studying risk factors associated with lung cancer in Hong Kong, Chan-Yeung et al. found that smoking was the most important risk factor associated with lung cancer, while exposure to incense fume and frying pan fumes were not significant risk factors [82]. Similarly, McCredie et al. carried out a population-based example-control study of perinatal and early postnatal hazard factors for malignant brain tumors in New South Wales children, and reported that no association was found between childhood encephalon tumors and incense burning [83]. A like determination was reported by Koo et al. when they conducted 4 epidemiological studies in Hong Kong over 15 years. They found that, although incense was identified as a major source of exposure to nitrogen dioxide and airborne carcinogens, it had no effect on lung cancer risk among nonsmokers and, more intriguingly, it significantly reduced gamble amid the smokers [84]. They attributed the findings to the relatively healthy diets amid smoking women who burned incense versus those who did not. Bunin et al. investigated gamble factors for the two well-nigh mutual types of brain tumors in children, astrocytic glioma and primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) and constitute that amongst the products (including incense) studied that contain North-nitroso compounds, only beer was associated with a significantly increased risk of either tumor type [85]. Similarly, Ger et al. investigated the relationship between various risk factors and lung cancer by histological types. They reported that, while occupational exposures to asbestos and working every bit a cook were meaning risk factors associated with adenocarcinoma of the lung, an inverse clan betwixt incense called-for and the adenocarcinoma was noted [85].

Conclusion

Incense called-for emits smoke containing particulate matter, gas products and other organic compounds and causes air pollution, airway disease and wellness issues. When incense smoke pollutants are inhaled, they cause airway dysfunction. Incense smoke is a risk factor for elevated cord blood IgE levels and has been indicated to cause allergic contact dermatitis. Incense smoke also has been associated with neoplasm. However, several conflicting reports have also been documented. The effect of incense smoke on health and the mechanism behind information technology needs to be further studied in an beast model. To obtain further conclusive results, more epidemiological studies with better controls and a longer time period are needed. Meanwhile, it is a skilful practice to proceed the room well ventilated when called-for incense. It will effectively dilute the indoor air pollutants and hence reduce the risk of exposure.

List of abbreviations used

DEP: diethylphthalate; PAH: polycyclic effluvious hydrocarbon; PM: particulate thing; PM_ten: particulate matter less than 10 μm in diameter; VOC: volatile organic compound.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors' contributions

T–CL, GK and DSC have all been involved in drafting the article or revising information technology critically for of import intellectual content and take given concluding approval of the version to be published.

Acknowledgements

We would like to give thanks Dr. Jim Kelley and Mr. Kenton Hall for their critique and proofreading of the manuscript. This written report was supported by the National Science Quango of Taiwan (grants NSC94-2211-006-095, NSC95-2918-I-006-002, and NSC95-EPA-Z-006-003), and the Research Development Commission and the Ruth Harris Endowment of East Tennessee Country Academy.

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Articles from Clinical and Molecular Allergy : CMA are provided here courtesy of BioMed Central

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Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2377255/

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