Mosquito coil
A mosquito coil is a mosquito repelling incense, usually shaped into a spiral, and typically made from a dried paste of pyrethrum powder. The coil is usually held at the center of the spiral, suspending it in the air, or wedged by two pieces of fireproof nettings to allow continuous smoldering. Burning usually begins at the outer end of the spiral and progresses slowly toward the centre of the spiral, producing a mosquito-repellent smoke.[1] A typical mosquito coil can measure around 15 cm in diameter and lasts around 7–12 hours. Mosquito coils are widely used in Asia, Africa, South America and Australia.[2]
Invention
Pyrethrum was used for centuries as an insecticide in Persia and Europe,[3] and the mosquito coil was developed around the 1890s by a Japanese business man, Eiichiro Ueyama. At that time in Japan, people usually mixed pyrethrum powder with sawdust and burned it in a brazier or incense burner to repel mosquitoes. Initially, Ueyama created incense sticks mixed from starch powder, dried mandarin orange skin powder, and pyrethrum powder. However, the bar-shaped mosquito sticks quickly burned up in about 40 minutes, too brief for a long repelling action. In 1895, his wife Yuki proposed making the sticks thicker and longer, and curling them in spirals. In 1902, after a series of trials and errors, he finally obtained the desired incense burning effect out of a spiral-shaped mosquito repellent. The method involved cutting from a thick bar of incense to a certain length and manually winding it. This method continued to be used until 1957, where mass production was made possible through machine punching, making a far larger manufacturing scale possible.[4][5] After the Second World War, his company, Dainihon Jochugiku Co. Ltd, set up joint-venture firms in various countries, such as China and Thailand, to produce products suited to local conditions.[5]
Ingredients
Active ingredients found in mosquito coils may include:[6]
- Pyrethrum – a natural, powdered material from a kind of chrysanthemum plant; performance moderate
- Pyrethrins – an extract of the insecticidal chemicals in pyrethrum
- Allethrin – sometimes d-trans-allethrin, the first synthetic pyrethroid
- Esbiothrin – a form of allethrin
- Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) – an optional additive to prevent pyrethroid from oxidizing during burning
- Piperonyl butoxide (PBO) – an optional additive to improve the effectiveness of pyrethroid
- N-Octyl bicycloheptene dicarboximide (MGK 264) – an optional additive to improve the effectiveness of a pyrethroid
Disadvantages
Mosquito coils can be a fire hazard. In 1999, sparks from mosquito coils ignited a fire that swept through a three-story dormitory building at a summer camp in South Korea; 23 people, including 19 children, died in the blaze.[7]
Mosquito coil as insecticide is safe for humans and mammals, but some studies claim that smoke generated from a burning mosquito coils could be potential health concerns in a closed room – some mosquito coils sold in China and Malaysia produced the same amount of PM2.5 as 75-137 burning cigarettes would and the emission of formaldehyde from one burning coil was as high as that released from 51 burning cigarettes.[2] Other study using rats concludes that mosquito coils are not significant health risk, though some may experience temporary sensory irritation just like any other smoke generated by combustion of organic materials such as logs.[8] In the study, rats were exposed to the smoke directly for six hours a day, five days a week for 13 weeks and the rats showed signs of sensory irritation from the high concentration of smokes, but did not cause adverse effects on other parts of the body. The study concludes that under normal use, mosquito coil is unlikely to be a health risk.
See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mosquito coil. |
References
- ↑ McKean, Erin, ed. (2005). "Mosquito Coil". The New Oxford American Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 1105.
- 1 2 Liu, Weili; Zhang, Junfeng; Hashim, Jamal H.; Jalaludin, Juliana; Hashim, Zailina; Goldstein, Bernard D. (September 2003). "Mosquito Coil Emissions and Health Implications" (PDF). Environmental Health Perspectives. 111 (12): 1454–1460. doi:10.1289/ehp.6286. PMC 1241646
. PMID 12948883.
- ↑ "Aromatica: History of pyrethrum". Bioaromatica Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
- ↑ Debboun, Mustapha; Frances, Stephen P.; Strickman, Daniel (2007). Insect repellents: principles, methods, and uses. Boca Raton: CRC Press. p. 6. ISBN 0-8493-7196-1.
- 1 2 International Business Organization of Osaka, Inc (2004). "Great People of Osaka: Eiichiro Ueyama - Developing and promoting insecticide together with pyrethrum". Osaka business Update. 4. Archived from the original on February 3, 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
- ↑ Strickman, Daniel; Frances, Stephen P.; Debboun, Mustapha (2009). Prevention of Bug Bites, Stings, and Disease. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-19-536577-1.
- ↑ Trumbull, Charles P., ed. (2000). "Disasters". Britannica Book of the year. 2000. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. p. 161.
- ↑ Pauluhn, J; Mohr, U (May 2006). "Mosquito coil smoke inhalation toxicity. Part II: subchronic nose-only inhalation study in rats.". Journal of Applied Toxicology. 26 (3): 279–92. doi:10.1002/jat.1139. PMID 16552726.