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By Lee Kyung-min
Roasting or frying food in a kitchen without proper ventilation creates a highly harmful level of fine dust, the Ministry of Environment said Monday.
According to a ministry survey of 32 households carried out between May and November last year, such cooking methods created 25 times the amount of particulate matter considered "very unhealthy," which is defined by the ministry's air quality standard as 90 micrograms of fine dust particles per cubic meter of air.
Hazardous organic compound byproducts included formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide, among others, it added.
The amount of fine dust created per cubic meter in descending order was fried mackerel with 2,400 mg, grilled pork with 1,360, fried egg with 1,130 and fried rice with 183 mg.
The oil or fat in the food or cooking methods involving oil or butter increased the amount of unhealthy particulates, it said.
More than 90 percent of fine dust created dissipated after 15 minutes of ventilation, with air quality reaching normal levels.
"Opening windows and turning on ventilation fans in the kitchen during and after cooking, especially when frying or roasting, is crucial to maintaining healthy air quality," a ministry official said.
"Keeping ventilation fans clean is also important," the official added.
The ministry warned against such cooking methods when the city authority issues fine dust alerts, as opening windows for ventilation is not an option in those conditions.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer under the World Health Organization (WHO), particulate matter is classified as carcinogenic to humans.
According to WHO, inhaling such harmful air produced while cooking is believed to be the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmoking women.
