Household Air Pollution Changes Your DNA and Raises Cancer Risk
NonToxCo Research
Science & Safety Team · 4/6/2026
The air inside your home is changing your DNA expression. A study in a high lung cancer area found epigenetic changes directly linked to household air pollution exposure.
What the Study Found
A 2026 epigenome-wide association study examined people living in an area with high lung cancer incidence and found that household air pollution exposure was associated with measurable epigenetic changes. These are modifications to how genes are turned on and off, without changing the DNA sequence itself.
Epigenetic changes from air pollution can activate cancer-promoting genes or silence tumor-suppressing genes. The result: higher lung cancer risk from the air inside your own home.
Sources of Household Air Pollution
Cooking with gas or solid fuels, heating with wood or coal, smoking indoors, scented products, cleaning chemicals, and off-gassing from furniture and building materials all contribute to indoor air pollution.
What You Can Do
Improve ventilation. Use exhaust fans while cooking. Run a HEPA air purifier. Don't smoke indoors. Use non-toxic cleaning products. Switch to electric cooking if possible.
Browse our non-toxic home essentials for cleaner indoor air.
Also see non-toxic kitchen essentials for safer alternatives.