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Vents are in most modern American homes. They keep you cool in the summer and hot in the winter. But, unfortunately they are not great for you. During the manufacturing process of a standard vent it is coated in a material that is like wax but releases fumes that can harm humans if inhaled for an extended period of time. The reason that they use this coating is because it is very cost efficient, but also during cooling the metal the edges get jagged and they didn't want users to have a possibility of cutting themselves. This wouldn't be a problem if the wax like paint was kept at a temperature of under 70 degrees fahrenheit. But when it's winter people often turn their heat up to 70 or even above 70. This is when the problem starts to occur. The waxy material slowly starts to melt and it releases this gas in very small amounts. This isn't as much of a problem in older vents because they have a sealant that doesn't melt. Newer vents however could be hazardous to anyone inside the house.
As seen in the diagram on the left the person inhales the particles of the coating and depending on the size of the particles they can get into different places. This can be very bad and if the particles are small enough they can permanently damage the person's lungs.
This is an example of the lungs of someone who had been exposed to a very bad case of this for a very long time. They lived in a cottage in the mountains and used excessive heat through many vents constantly to retain warmth. In the end they had severe breathing problems and scientists discovered that the reason why was the coating of the vents.
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