Domestic Smoke Research Articles

Domestic smoke pollution and acute respiratory infections in a rural community of the hill region of Nepal

Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are the cause of death for at least five million children per year under five years of age. Most of these deaths occur in developing countries. Domestic smoke pollution is very common in many parts of the developing world, and appropriate technology, such as smokeless stoves, is available to reduce this type of pollution. The present study has been undertaken in a rural community of the hill region of Nepal to find out if there is any association between domestic smoke pollution and ARI in infants and children younger than two years of age. This preliminary study showed that episodes of moderate and severe ARI increased with increases in the level of exposure to domestic smoke pollution, thus suggesting domestic smoke pollution to be an important, preventable risk factor of ARI.

Smoke detection of smoldering fires in a typical Melbourne dwelling

Operation of domestic smoke detectors (photoelectric and ionization) has been investigated in a typical Melbourne dwelling using smoke from smoldering hardboard and artificial smoke generated at three widely different rates. Detector performance was assessed according to the escape time offered by its operation, this being based on the criterion of visibility needed to effect escape. Under these test conditions detectors located in bedrooms performed adequately only when smoke originated in the same room; they provided poor escape times for smoke originating elsewhere. Also, ionization detectors usually provided adequate escape times only when smoke travel from the source room to the rest of the dwelling was restrained by small door openings, since it then took longer for visibility to be lost. Photoelectric detectors were generally more effective than ionization detectors, as expected for smoldering conditions, and when located in the hallway provided adequate escape times for most conditions of size and location of smoke source.

Children's sore throats related to parental smoking.

There has been concern that the smoking of tobacco can adversely affect the health of non-smokers. This is most cogent in children who are subject to smoke at home. The aim of this study is to relate children's sore throats to the smoking habits of their parents. The parents of 154 children were asked about the age, sex, birthweight, method of postnatal feeding and age at starting school or day nursery of the child, the frequency of sore throats, smoking habits and history of tonsillectomy of all members of the household, the size of family, the dwelling size, and the occupation of the father. Analysis by multiple regression showed a significant association between children's sore throats and maternal smoking. Reduction in domestic cigarette smoke exposure should benefit the child by reducing the number of sore throats he or she suffers.

Domestic smoke pollution and chronic bronchitis in a rural community of the Hill Region of Nepal.

An earlier study of chronic bronchitis in a rural community of the Hill Region of Nepal using Medical Research Council criteria showed a high prevalence rate that was more or less equal in the two sexes. Most of the women in the study population are exposed to domestic smoke caused by wood and straw fires used for cooking and heating purposes in the ill ventilated houses without chimneys. Data from 1375 individuals were analysed to determine whether there was any relationship between domestic smoke pollution and chronic bronchitis. Exposure to domestic smoke was assessed according to the average time per day spent near the fireplace. The association between chronic bronchitis and cigarette smoking was confirmed. In female nonsmokers and smokers and past smokers of both sexes crude and age adjusted prevalence rates for chronic bronchitis were significantly associated with increasing exposure to domestic smoke. In the living conditions existing in the rural Hill Region of Nepal domestic smoke pollution is an important contributing factor in the development of chronic bronchitis.

Risk Factors for Persistent Middle-Ear Effusions

To ascertain risk factors for persistent middle-ear effusions (PMEE), we interviewed the parents of two groups of children. The first consisted of 76 children with PMEE who were admitted to the hospital for tympanostomy-tube insertion. The second, a control group, consisted of 76 children admitted for other types of surgery, who were matched for age, sex, season, and surgical ward. Nearly all (97%) of the children admitted for insertion of tympanostomy tubes had one or more episodes of suppurative otitis media. Only 59% of the control children had previous ear infections. Frequent ear infections sharply increased the risk for persistent effusions. Catarrh, household cigarette smoke exposure, and atopy also occurred more frequently in children with PMEE. The risk for middle-ear effusions was greatest when these three factors were all present. The avoidance of daily exposure to domestic tobacco smoke and, if atopic, of specific allergens should be included in the medical treatment of children with PMEE.

Chronic lung disease in the Papua New Guinea Highlands.

In the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea 46 men and 24 women with chronic lung disease underwent clinical and lung function investigations. In all cases the sole or predominant abnormality was irreversible airways obstruction, probably from chronic bronchitis with variable amounts of acompanying emphysema. There were close similarities to chronic obstructife lung disease in European populations in terms of symptoms, airways obstruction, transfer factor, and radiographic emphysema and inflammatory changes. Bronchiectasis and local fibrosis were present in a few subjects, but previous reports that pulmonary and pleural fibrosis are features of the disease were not confirmed. Possibly environmental and genetic factors may increase the associated blood gas disturbances leading to pulmonary hypertension. Unlike chronic obstructive lung disease in European populations, tobacco smoking is not an important aetiological factor. Although there is no direct evidence, the most likely possibilities are domestic wood smoke and acute chest infections.

Respiratory abnormalities in Papua New Guinea children: the effects of locality and domestic wood smoke pollution.

Respiratory abnormalities in Papua New Guinea children: the effects of locality and domestic wood smoke pollution.

Studies in the Politics of Environmental Protection: The Historical Roots of the British Clean Air Act, 1956: II. The Appeal to Public Opinion over Domestic Smoke, 1880–1892

This is the second of three article about the campaign to abate smoke in the cities of England which began early in the 19th century and culminated in the Clean Air Act, 1956. By the 1880s it had b...

Studies in the Politics of Environmental Protection: The Historical Roots of the British Clean Air Act, 1956: II. The Appeal to Public Opinion over Domestic Smoke, 1880–1892

This is the second of three article about the campaign to abate smoke in the cities of England which began early in the 19th century and culminated in the Clean Air Act, 1956. By the 1880s it had become evident that a major cause of the severe ‘pea soup’ fogs in London was smoke from domestic fires which were not covered by any law to abate smoke. A succession of severe fogs, coupled with the publication of mortality rates which turned out to be as severe as those caused by cholera, stimulated the creation of a smoke abatement lobby. Thi essay describes the work of that lobby and the sustained efforts (ten attempts in nine years) to put a smoke-abatement Bill through parliament.The choice before Londoners was either to change from open fires to closed stoves burning anthracite or coke, as the social price to pay for cleaner air; or to continue to enjoy the ‘pokeable, companionable’ open grate, at the cost of fogs which caused death and illness and paralysed transport. In the 1880s the technology for smoke control was already available; it was social resistance to it which prevented its application. The anti-smoke lobby failed to get more effective laws through parliament; but it did valuable service in keeping the issue before the public and lifting social norms for the environment toward the ‘threshold level’ which, two generations later, made stricter smoke abatement laws acceptable.

Long-term mean concentrations of atmospheric smoke and sulphur dioxide in country areas of England and Wales

The representiveness of daily observations at atmospheric smoke and sulphur dioxide concentrations monitored at National Survey country sites is discussed. Long-term mean smoke and sulphur dioxide concentrations for wind octants at 21 country sites in England and Wales are presented and examined in the context of urban and background concentrations. Sources are identified and the effects of wind speed on the long-distance transport of air pollution discussed. Estimates of domestic and industrial smoke emissions, by counties, for England and Wales are given. An expression is developed from which long-term concentrations of smoke or sulphur dioxide at a country site can be calculated.

Adsorption and catalysis at the solid/sulfur dioxide interface in the atmosphere. An examination of statistical data

From the official analytical data for sulfur dioxide and smoke in air pollution for one winter and one summer month covering residential and industrial areas in Great Britain, regression lines are computed. These reveal a large deficiency which is of very high significance of sulfur dioxide relative to smoke in winter compared with summer; the data show clearly that the deficiency is not due to the increase in domestic smoke in winter. Several reasons for the deficiency are examined semiquantitatively, and it is suggested that adsorption of sulfur dioxide occurs on solid particles followed by its catalytic oxidation by oxygen to sulfur trioxide. The amount of sulfur dioxide to be accounted for is far too high to be explained by simple adsorption on smoke particles. The catalysis may be due to traces of metals. The data also reveal that whatever may be the mechanism by which the sulfur dioxide is removed, it becomes less effective as the amount of smoke present increases, in all situations. It is suggested that a cause of this change might be the progressive covering of the very active surface of natural inorganic dust, possibly including meteoric dust, in the atmosphere by the less catalytically active smoke particles as their concentration rises.

The influence of a power station on climate—a study of local weather records

Local weather records collected near a 2000 MW power station with eight natural-draught cooling towers have been examined to see if any climatic effects due to the power station could be detected, for the four years of its operation so far. It is concluded that the emissions from the station have not affected the values of total rainfall, hours of bright sunshine, or incidence of morning fog recorded by climatological stations at distances of 4 km (the nearest station) and above from the station. Fogs in the area have been decreasing over recent years, and in a town this is related to the decrease in domestic smoke concentrations. The frequency of fogs in a country district is already low and is not affected by variations in the low smoke concentrations there.

Trends in smoke concentrations before and after the clean air act of 1956

Using smoke data from one site at Kew in a park well outside London's most densely populated inner residential areas (at which site there had been no consistent trend whatsoever in levels of smoke, upwards or downwards, in the 20 years preceding the passing of the Clean Air Act), plus data from 3 selected towns in the south of the country, outside the “black areas”, the authors of the above paper claim to show that the effect of the Clean Air Act. widely recognized as one of several factors responsible for the decline of smoke in the U.K. in recent years, has been a relatively minor one. Their very selective evaluation completely ignores rates of change in the individual “black areas” outside London and cannot therefore be regarded as being relevant to the bulk of the areas in which domestic smoke control has been pursued under the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Any realistic estimation of the effect of the Act would involve a much more extensive study of the mass of available data, and would be very unlikely to lead to identical conclusions for all areas and individual towns in the U.K.

Health Impact of Indoor Air Pollution

Background: The domestic smoke exposure increases the risk of a range of common and serious diseases. Further, association of exposure with chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive lung disease is quite well established in recent researches. This work was carried out to determine the health impact of indoor air pollution in rural hill region of Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional study on health impact of indoor air pollution to exposed kitchen dwellers and children, was done using random sampling method devised with probability proportion in Malikarjun Village Development Committee, Nepal. This study was conducted in two phases, in first phase. Adult kitchen dwellers were assessed for prevalence of respiratory disorder while in second phase, during three months Acute Respiratory Infection episodes of children below two years were recorded. Results: Eight kinds of respiratory ailments and related symptoms were prevalent in adult respondents of 42 households. Cough phlegm, breathlessness, wheezing, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and bronchial asthma were significantly varied with higher exposure category (P<0.05) and smoking habit (P<0.01). Peak expiratory flow rate PEFR results significantly varied with both smoking habit and exposure level both in male and female (P<0.01). Correlation analysis denoted higher prevalence of diseases and symptoms in smokers (r = 0.464; P<0.01). Acute Respiratory Infection episodes per child was significant in grade I (P<0.01) and grade II (P<0.05) for both exposure level and parental smoking habit. Conclusions: A significant association between exposure of Indoor Air Pollution and prevalence of respiratory disorders and related symptoms in kitchen dwelling adults and children was found. Key words: acute respiratory infection; exposure duration; indoor air pollution; prevalence; respiratory disorder. DOI: 10.3126/jnhrc.v7i2.3009 Journal of Nepal Health Research Council Vol.7(2) Apr 2009 69-75

Smoke and Rain

IN a paper published in 19291 the conclusion was drawn from observations made in two or three different ways that smoke discharged into the atmosphere tends to promote rainfall and to precipitate rain in highly moist air when, without smoke, it would not have fallen. One test was to compute the rainfall on each day of the week, and the result showed that on an average of thirty years, Sundays had rather less rain than weekdays by about 6 per cent, or more correctly, the average of weekdays had an excess over Sundays by this amount. As factories in Hochdale and neighbouring Lancashire towns do not work on Sundays there is then a general absence of smoke in the air, although domestic smoke, which is of less importance, continues. The outpouring of factory smoke on working weekdays was considered to be the cause of the excess of rain on weekdays over Sundays.

Home Fires without Smoke: a Handbook on the Prevention of Domestic Smoke

THIS small book is of the popular type setting forth in simple language the existing methods available for preventing domestic smoke. There is a useful foreword by Sir Napier Shaw, and four chapters by different authors. Solid fuels are dealt with by Dr. M. Fishenden, gas by Mr. F. W. Goodenough, electricity by Major F. H. Masters, and the general housewife's problem by Miss Bushell and Miss Gordon. The book should help those desirous of knowing what they can do to eliminate domestic smoke. Home Fires without Smoke: a Handbook on the Prevention of Domestic Smoke. Edited by Cyril Elliott Marion FitzGerald. Pp. xvi + 59. (London: Ernest Bein, Ltd., 1926.) 3s. 6d. net.

The Smoke of Cities

PROF. BOYCOTT'S statement is rather surprising; but I cannot think that the explanation is to be found in the larger amount of domestic smoke in Manchester. One would rather expect the reverse, and I can only suppose that the difference between Manchester and London dirt is due to the larger amount of dust not arising from smoke, as Prof. Boycott suggests. Any difference in the quality of coal used in Manchester and London would scarcely have the effect he describes.

Atmospheric Pollution 1

AS recorded in NATURE of. December 17, 1914 (vol. xciv., p. 433), Sheffield is one of the cities joining in the observations on atmospheric pollution Abatement Societies of the United Kingdom, monthly results of the chemical exai water collected at four sites, appro E., and W. of the Town Hall,2 hav in the Lancet, and are being embodi report of the medical officer of heal Sheffield. The results do not accord and certain conclusions have been reached which are perhaps of more than local interest, as they throw doubt on the value of chemical analyses of rain-water, either in the investigation of atmospheric pollution or in a comparison of the extent of pollution in different localities. It should be borne in mind that in Sheffield the distinction between factory and domestic smoke, which is based on the relative amounts of tarry matter and ammonia in the atmosphere (this journal, loc. cit.), cannot be drawn owing to the large number of reheating and annealing furnaces in operation in the east end (where the large steel works are situated), for which coal is burned so as to produce the smoke necessary for the metallurgical processes involved.