International cancer researchers warned today that burning solid fuels and frying food at high temperatures in poorly ventilated rooms raise the risk of lung cancer.

Scientists at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said indoor emissions from burning biomass fuel — such as wood, charcoal and dung — as well as emissions from high-temperature frying, could lead to cancer.

The World Health Organization has identified burning solid fuels, such as coal, wood, or dung, as one of the top ten causes of disease in the developing world.  Women and children who are at home most of the day have the highest risk.

Estimates are that about half the world’s population uses wood or coal for cooking and heating, often in poorly ventilated spaces.

“It is therefore of enormous public health importance that we call attention to the health risks of what is daily practice for so many people,” Dr Peter Boyle, of the Lyon-based IARC, said in a statement.

A group of 19 scientists looked at several studies that have been done involving people or lab animals.  They found enough evidence to conclude that “emissions from household combustion of coal are ‘carcinogenic to humans.’

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) findings are published in the December, 2006, issue of The Lancet Oncology.