Smoke from burning trash can affect eye, nose, sexual performance – Doctor

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Now it is common to see people burning plastic, household garbage with the smoke covering the air and causing polution.

As with any bad practice, this long-lived habit has some negative impact on humans and our environment.

Speaking in a phone interview with Dr. Quansah of Ynort Homeopathic Clinic on Our Land Our Future on Radio1, he said these actions can have a dangerous effect on humans.

“When wood, household garbage, plastic, or leaves are burned, they produce smoke and release toxic gases. The smoke contains vapors and particulate matter (solid compounds suspended in the air). The particulate matter and toxic gases released during burning can be very irritating to people’s health”, he explained.

Dr. Quansah added, “People exposed to these air pollutants can experience eye and nose irritation, breathing difficulty, coughing, and headaches and even affect men’s sexual performance in bed.”

He stressed that “People with heart disease, asthma, emphysema, or other respiratory diseases are especially sensitive to air pollutants”.

“The chance of human health effects occurring depends mostly on the concentration of air pollutants in people’s breathing zone (the air around the nose and mouth).”

“Typically, no adverse health effects are expected unless people are very close to the source of smoke or the smoke isn’t diluted enough with clean air”.

The toxic chemicals released during burning include nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), and polycyclic organic matter (POMs).

He concluded that burning plastic and treated wood also release heavy metals and toxic chemicals such as dioxin which is dangerous to human health.

By: Radio1 | Michael Agyapong Agyapa | Ghana