Using personal exposure measurements of particulate matter to estimate health impacts associated with cooking in peri-urban Accra, Ghana

Abstract

This study assessed personal exposure to PM2.5 and the associated potential health outcomes in Accra, Ghana. The Household Air Pollution Tool model was employed to estimate health benefits attributable to various fuel use scenarios using user-derived and publicly available inputs, including the Global Burden of Disease data presented by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. This study assessed personal exposure for four fuel user groups: LPG-only, LPG and charcoal, charcoal only, and wood use alone or in combination with any other fuel. Ambient PM2.5 concentrations were also assessed during the study period. The wood user group demonstrated significantly higher PM2.5 exposure than the other three user groups, which all had average PM2.5 personal exposure similar to the average ambient PM2.5 concentration. The results of the exposure assessment imply that ambient particulate matter may drive the majority of PM2.5 exposure in peri-urban LPG and charcoal using households in Accra and therefore for the majority of homes in Accra (~80% are non-wood users in urban Ghana), reductions in PM2.5 exposure and associated health gains may require reducing ambient PM. From a study by Zhou et al., in Accra biomass burning accounted for 39–62% of total PM2.5 mass in the kitchen in different neighborhoods. Road dust and vehicle emissions comprised 12–33% of PM2.5 mass. This means that even if direct PM emissions are low from LPG and charcoal burning homes, homes using wood fuel to meet their household energy needs contribute to ambient PM, which influences the PM2.5 exposure of their non-wood using neighbors.