Abstract
Prior studies document a high prevalence of respiratory symptoms among brick workers in Nepal, which may be partially caused by non-occupational exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from cooking. In this study, we compared PM2.5 levels and 24 h trends in brick workers’ homes that used wood or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cooking fuel. PM2.5 filter-based and real-time nephelometer data were collected for approximately 24 h in homes and outdoors. PM2.5 was significantly associated with fuel type and location (p < 0.0001). Pairwise comparisons found significant differences between gas, indoor (geometric mean (GM): 79.32 μg/m3), and wood, indoor (GM: 541.14 μg/m3; p = 0.0002), and between wood, indoor, and outdoor (GM: 48.38 μg/m3; p = 0.0006) but not between gas, indoor, and outdoor (p = 0.56). For wood fuel homes, exposure peaks coincided with mealtimes. For LPG fuel homes, indoor levels may be explained by infiltration of ambient air pollution. In both wood and LPG fuel homes, PM2.5 levels exceeded the 24 h limit (25.0 µg/m3) proposed by the World Health Organization. Our findings suggest that increasing the adoption of LPG cookstoves and decreasing ambient air pollution in the Kathmandu valley will significantly lower daily PM2.5 exposures of brick workers and their families.
Highlights
Household air pollution from indoor burning of solid biomass and gaseous fuels is responsible for approximately 3.8 million deaths annually worldwide [1]
Chronic exposure to household air pollution is associated with acute lower respiratory tract infections, respiratory illness, impaired immune function, and low birth weight in children, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), respiratory illnesses, tuberculosis (TB), impaired immune function, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and lung cancer in adults [5,6,7]
Our findings indicate that PM2.5 concentration was significantly associated with device-fuel type
Summary
Household air pollution from indoor burning of solid biomass and gaseous fuels is responsible for approximately 3.8 million deaths annually worldwide [1]. Indoor burning of solid biomass fuels, including wood, on open fires produces high levels of air pollutants, including inhalable (PM10 ). Chronic exposure to household air pollution is associated with acute lower respiratory tract infections, respiratory illness, impaired immune function, and low birth weight in children, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), respiratory illnesses, tuberculosis (TB), impaired immune function, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and lung cancer in adults [5,6,7]. Efforts to reduce exposure to household air pollution by providing improved stoves to exposed populations have been met with mixed results, largely due to cultural barriers, cost, and local social and environmental factors [8,9,10,11]. Public Health 2020, 17, 5681; doi:10.3390/ijerph17165681 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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