Abstract
Exposure to high PM10 by women and children for hours on a daily basis in poor ventilated kitchen may lead to respiratory morbidity among this vulnerable group. In Nigeria, data on the levels of air pollutants associated with kerosene stove combustion are very scarce. Like-wise little had been documented on the pulmonary health of women exposed to kerosene stove emission. This study was carried out to measure the levels of kerosene combustion emissions within kitchen environments and also assess the pulmonary function status of the exposed women at baseline. Particulate matter (PM10) and gaseous emissions (GE) were measured in six purposively selected clusters of regular kerosene stove users (KSU) using gravimetric sampler and gas monitors, respectively and their values compared with WHO guideline limits. 167 randomly selected KSU were surveyed to elicit their socio demographic features. A spirometer was used to assess the lung function status (FEV1) of 72 KSU in six neighbourhood kitchen clusters. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and Pearson’s correlation tests. Respondents’ mean age was 38 + 12.9 years. Mean duration of exposure to GE was 18.9 + 9.8 years. Mean PM10 was 248.1 + 14.1 μg/m3 and ten folds higher than WHO guideline limit of 25 μg/m3. Mean GE in ppm were: CO (0.00), CO2 (200.1 + 12.4), SO2 (0.01 + 0.00) and NO2 (0.00). Mean FEV1 among KSU was 2.0 + 0.5 litres which was significantly lower than the mean predicted value of 2.7 ± 0.5 litres. There was a negative correlation between PM10 and FEV1 (r = -0.7539, p > 0.05). Safer cooking methods and practices to obviate health hazards are advocated.
Highlights
About half of the world’s population is exposed to smoke from burning biomass fuel at home [1]
The results showed that the concentrations of particles of aerodynamic size 10 μm (PM10) were higher in the evening hours than the morning hours
Our study revealed that the women were exposed to kerosene stoves PM10 emissions that were ten times higher than the WHO guideline limit
Summary
About half of the world’s population is exposed to smoke from burning biomass fuel at home [1]. It has been estimated that the use of fuels to cook and heat is common in developing countries, with an estimated 3 billion people exposed to smoke from these fuels [2]. It has been estimated by Prüss-Ustün et al that biomass smoke exposure is responsible for about 1.5 million early deaths per year [3]. Much evidence has been documented, for example, that links biomass fuel combustion with the incidence of chronic bronchitis in women and of ARI in children [5]. Exposure to this high PM10 by women and children for hours on a daily basis in poor ventilated kitchen may lead to respiratory morbidity among this vulnerable group
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