U. WASHINGTON-SEATTLE (US) — The fresh, clean scent flowing from household dryer vents likely contains hazardous chemicals, including two classified as carcinogens.
“This is an interesting source of pollution because emissions from dryer vents are essentially unregulated and unmonitored,” says lead author Anne Steinemann, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and of public affairs at the University of Washington. “If they’re coming out of a smokestack or tail pipe, they’re regulated, but if they’re coming out of a dryer vent, they’re not.”