Use Of Biomass Fuels Research Articles

Does Renewable Energy (RE) Contribute to Rural Livelihood? Evidence from Nepal

This study examines the contribution of renewable energy (RE) on rural livelihoods in Nepal using a mixed-methods approach with the consideration of socio-economic development and environmental sustainability. Data were gathered through household surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions across various local levels in Nepal. The findings indicate that the adoption of RE technologies, particularly solar energy, has significantly improved agricultural productivity, income levels, and overall living standards. Solar-powered irrigation systems have enabled farmers to increase crop yields, enhancing food security and income diversification. The study highlights the essential role of community involvement and local governance in the successful implementation and sustainability of RE projects. Despite the initial high costs of RE technologies, the long-term benefits, including reduced energy costs and enhanced environmental sustainability, outweigh these challenges. The reduction in the use of traditional biomass fuels has led to improved air quality and health outcomes in rural households. This research highlights the potential of renewable energy to transform rural livelihoods in Nepal, advocating for continued support and investment in RE initiatives to ensure sustainable development in remote and underserved regions.

Biomass Fuel use Prevalent in the Zambian Population: Observations from the Zambia Demographic Health Survey 2018

Abstract Background: Biomass fuels are used by half of the world’s population, and are often the only source of domestic energy. Markers of lower socioeconomic status were related to greater use of dirty-burning fuels. This study aimed to measure the prevalence and determinants of biomass fuel use in the Zambian population. Methodology: This cross-sectional study used secondary data from the Zambia Demographic Health Survey 2018. Descriptive statistics of individual characteristics, testing for associations using Pearson’s chi-square test, and univariate and multivariate binomial regressions were performed using Stata 13. Results: The prevalence of biomass fuel use was 91.7% (11,762), with the most notable usage observed among females (68.2%) residing in rural areas compared to males (63.4%). Factors indicating lower socioeconomic status, such as living in rural areas with a crude prevalence ratio of 1.13 (1.12-1.14) and cooking outdoors at 1.10 (1.09-1.10), were linked to the use of biomass fuels, while higher education served as a protective factor at 0.84 (0.83-0.85). Conclusion: This study showed that rural residence, cooking from outside, and educational attainment could be important determinants of the use of biomass fuels. Education appears to be an effective preventive factor in reducing the likelihood of biomass fuel use.

Impact of indoor air pollution exposure from traditional stoves on lung functions in adult women of a rural Indian district

Introduction: Biomass Fuels (BMF) used for daily cooking in developing countries inside home is the highest exposures to air pollutants. Inhalation of these pollutants causes harmful health effects. This study aims to assess the health effects with the indoor air pollutants generated BMF.
 Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study, conducted in a rural village of India. 450 households were divided into two groups based on the cooking fuel, the BMF group and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) clean fuel group. Socioeconomic and respiratory symptoms information was obtained using a standard questionnaire. Indoor air concentration for PM10 and PM2.5 was measured during cooking hours. Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs) were conducted for the women inhabitants using spirometer.
 Results: Respiratory symptoms like chest pain, breathlessness, eye irritation, and blackout found to be significantly higher in biomass users (P<0.05). Moreover, an increasing trend in the prevalence of symptoms/ morbid conditions observed with an increase in exposure.
 Conclusion: Findings of the study confirms that the traditional use of biomass fuels exposes all family members daily to air pollution levels that well exceed available health guidelines for indoor air quality and highlights the critical gender and age dimensions of the Household Air Pollution (HAP) problem. Women exposed to BMF smoke suffer more from health problems and are at higher risk of respiratory illnesses than other fuel users.

Association of Exposure to Biomass Fuels with Occurrence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Rural Western China: A Real-World Nested Case-Control Study.

This study investigated the potential contribution of biomass fuels exposure to the occurrence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in rural areas of western China. We analyzed data collected between October 2017 and October 2018 from a nested case-control study of individuals at least 40 years old in the general population in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, China. Demographic information was collected using a custom-designed questionnaire, and lung function was measured using spirometry. We used multivariate logistic regression to explore the possible relationship between biomass fuels exposure and COPD, as well as between other potential risk factors and COPD. Bayes' theorem was used to estimate weights for different COPD risk factors. COPD was newly diagnosed in 500 of the 11398 adults surveyed, corresponding to an incidence of 4.39%. Individuals who were exposed to biomass fuels were at a significantly greater risk of developing COPD than those not exposed (OR 2.58, 95% CI 2.23-3.05). In subgroup analysis, exposure to biomass fuels increased the risk of COPD in men by 1.71 times (95% CI 1.09-2.68) and in women by 2.88 times (95% CI 2.01-3.48), in never-smokers by 2.18 times. Bayesian weights for COPD risk factors were highest for poor kitchen ventilation (W=31.13%) and biomass fuels exposure (W=18.08%). Our data indicate that rural Chinese who are exposed to biomass fuels during cooking or heating are at greater risk of developing COPD. Efforts should be made to strengthen the construction of clean energy infrastructure, so as to reduce the use of biomass fuels and thereby help prevent COPD.

A review on indoor air pollution from lightning sources in developing countries—The pollutants, the prevention and the latest technologies for control

Currently, developing nations around the world rely heavily on the use of biomass and fossil fuels for cooking, lighting, and warmth due to a lack of access to clean fuels and constant electricity supply. Unfortunately, the use of these materials has the side effect of emitting of harmful pollutants into the air. Constant exposure to some of these emissions has led to the death of millions of people around the world, with women and children disproportionately affected due to greater amounts of time spent indoors. The work focused on indoor air pollution from lightning sources in developing countries and the negative impacts of cases of ill-health and mortality. The techniques adopted for the research comprised extensive and intensive review of literature on lightning sources. Resources used encompassed internet materials, current reports and recent publications by researchers of note. The findings show that there are associated pollutants, the prevention and the latest technologies for control the pollutants. It was concluded that the dearth of research in lighting sources as sources of indoor air pollution is needed to be addressed by researchers. Also, policy implications to improve electricity deficits should be embarked upon by governments to discourage the use of fossils and biomass for lighting indoors.

Comparing sources of carbonaceous aerosols during haze and nonhaze periods in two northern Chinese cities

Radiocarbon (14C), stable carbon isotope (13C), and levoglucosan in PM2.5 were measured in two northern Chinese cities during haze events and nonhaze periods in January 2019, to ascertain the sources and their differences in carbonaceous aerosols between the two periods. The contribution of primary vehicle emissions (17.8 ± 3.7%) to total carbon in Beijing during that haze event was higher than that of primary coal combustion (7.3 ± 4.2%), and it increased significantly (7.1%) compared to the nonhaze period. The contribution of primary vehicle emissions (4.1 ± 2.8%) was close to that of primary coal combustion (4.3 ± 3.3%) during the haze event in Xi'an, and the contribution of primary vehicle emissions decreased by 5.8% compared to the nonhaze period. Primary biomass burning contributed 21.1 ± 10.5% during the haze event in Beijing and 40.9 ± 6.6% in Xi'an (with an increase of 3.3% compared with the nonhaze period). The contribution of secondary fossil fuel sources to total secondary organic carbon increased by 29.2% during the haze event in Beijing and by 18.4% in Xi'an compared to the nonhaze period. These results indicate that specific management measures for air pollution need to be strengthened in different Chinese cities in the future, that is, controlling vehicle emissions in Beijing and restricting the use of coal and biomass fuels in winter in Xi'an.

Harnessing the Thermal Potentials of Bitter Kola Tree Using Thermo- Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) Method

This research focused on harnessing the thermal potentials of the bitter kola tree relying on the information determined by the Thermo-gravimetric Analyzer. Today the world is facing some critical problems such as: high fuel prices, climatic changes, and air pollution. Higher Heating Value (HHV) is one of the most important properties of fuels which explains the higher energy content and determines the efficient use of biomass and fossil fuels. This research work aimed to conduct thermo-gravimetric analysis on Bitter kola tree energy crop. The materials for the research was acquired from a nearby farmland and further dried under sunlight for a period of four weeks before being dried further in the oven at regulated constant temperature, it was pulverized and further analyzed to determine the moisture content, ash content, crude fat, crude protein and crude fibre. From the experimental results, it was revealed that the moisture content of bitter kola tree particles was very high (44.37) compared to mangrove (22.75). The volatile matter was very low (43.47) compared to mangrove (55.65). These facts are responsible for the low combustion characteristics of bitter kola tree. This project work will educates anyone who chooses to venture into biomass generation of energy with energy crops to know the exact crop sample with the highest heating value for increased coefficient of performance and efficiency of the steam or turbine engines to be used for generating electricity.

Patterns and Determinants of Households' Energy Choices for Cooking as Well as Their Implications for Poverty Eradication in Nigeria

ABSTRACT: Adequate access to environmentally-friendly energy sources is crucial for addressing the problems of environmental degradation and adverse climate change as well as other developmental challenges. The literature on the patterns and determinants of households' energy choices for cooking is very scanty. Essentially, the scanty literature, in general, did not adequately cater for household composition and economies of scale in household consumption as well as give adequate consideration to the impact of ownership of education/entertainment appliances and means of communication by households on households' energy choices for cooking. It is very important to utilize adult equivalence scales and estimate of economies of scales in household consumption in the analysis of household consumption in order to make such analysis highly robust. It is also very important to include ownership of education/entertainment appliances and means of communication in the analysis of households' energy choices for cooking because they (the appliances and means of communication) are expected to provide adequate awareness on the harmful effects of dirty energy sources and such awareness can influence households' energy choices. Furthermore, none of the studies in the scanty literature discussed the major implications for poverty eradication of the patterns and determinants of households' energy choices for cooking. This study adequately addressed the highlighted research gaps. The study analyzed the patterns and determinants of households' energy choices for cooking in Nigeria and discussed their implications for poverty eradication in the country using, among other things, descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression technique. The study was based on a nationally representative survey data, obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics. The study found that the patterns of households' energy choices for cooking in Nigeria exhibit the operation of energy ladder hypothesis. The study also found that increased educational level of household head, ownership of electric food preservation appliance by household and satisfactory housing condition are among the factors that increase the likelihoods of the uses of transition fuels and very clean energy sources as well as reduce the likelihood of the use of traditional biomass fuels. Adequate measures should therefore be put in place to sufficiently increase households' incomes and guarantee optimal access to environmentally-friendly energy sources for cooking in the country; this will pave the way for poverty eradication in the country.

Successes and challenges to implementing the Fondo de Inclusión Social Energético LPG access program in Peru: Novel insights from front-end implementers

BackgroundHousehold air pollution due to the burning of solid fuels is one of the leading risk factors for disease and mortality worldwide, resulting in an estimated three million deaths annually. Peru's national LPG access program, FISE, aims to reduce the use of biomass fuels and increase access to cleaner fuels for cooking in low-income Peruvian households through public-private partnerships. Perspectives from front-end program implementers are needed to better understand barriers and facilitators to program implementation and to identify strategies to strengthen program reach, uptake, and health impact. MethodsWe conducted fourteen 30–60-minute, semi-structured interviews with FISE-authorized LPG vendors (also known as agents) in Puno, Peru from November to December of 2019. Questions focused on barriers and facilitators to program enrollment and participation as an LPG agent, and agents' motivations for participating in the program. ResultsOverall, agents expressed satisfaction with the FISE program and a willingness to continue participating in the program. Distance from main cities and the homes of program participants, knowledge of FISE and LPG stoves among community members, cell service, and lack of communication with FISE authorities were cited as barriers to implementation and LPG distribution. Agents' previous experience selling LPG, as well as their social networks and understanding of the health impacts of household air pollution, aided agents in more effectively navigating the system of FISE rules and regulations and in better serving their clients. Many agents were motivated to participate in FISE because they saw it as a service to their community and found ways to prioritize the needs of beneficiaries. ConclusionThe FISE program provides an example of how a large-scale national program can successfully partner with local private enterprises for program implementation. Building upon the strengths of community-based LPG agents, educating community members on the use and benefits of LPG, incentivizing and supporting delivery services, and improving communication will be key for increasing program utilization and exclusive use of LPG, and improving health outcomes among Peru's most vulnerable populations.

Linking climate policy across economic sectors: A case for green growth in Nepal

AbstractWhile the energy sector is the largest global contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector account for up to 80% of GHG emissions in the least developed countries (LDCs). Despite this, the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of LDCs, including Nepal, focus primarily on climate mitigation in the energy sector. This paper introduces green growth—a way to foster economic growth while ensuring access to resources and environmental services—as an approach to improving climate policy coherence across sectors. Using Nepal as a case country, this study models the anticipated changes in resource use and GHG emissions between 2015 and 2030, that would result from implementing climate mitigation actions in Nepal's NDC. The model uses four different scenarios. They link NDC and policies across economic sectors and offer policy insights regarding (1) energy losses that could cost up to 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, (2) protection of forest resources by reducing the use of biomass fuels from 465 million gigajoules (GJ) in 2015 to 195 million GJ in 2030, and (3) a significant reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 relative to the business‐as‐usual (BAU) case by greater use of electricity from hydropower rather than biomass. These policy insights are significant for Nepal and other LDCs as they seek an energy transition towards using more renewable energy and electricity.

A day‐ahead optimal scheduling model of an integrated energy system for a facility agricultural–industrial park

AbstractThe widespread use of biogas and biomass fuels in facility agro‐industrial parks has led to a significant increase in their carbon emissions. A day‐ahead optimal scheduling model for an integrated energy system (IES) is proposed, that considers the coupling of biomass and power to gas (P2G) to reduce carbon emissions during the operation of an industrial park. The proposed model incorporates the two evaluation indices of the economy of and carbon emissions by the IES of the park, and formulates and solves a multi‐objective optimization problem by using the ε‐constraint method. From among the solutions to the Pareto front, we choose the scheduling strategy that delivers the optimal performance in case of multiple objectives by using the fuzzy decision method. Finally, the validity of the proposed model was verified by considering the IES of an agriculture–industrial park in the northwest region of China.

RISK FACTORS AND OUTCOMES OF ACUTE LOWER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION IN CHILDREN AGED 2 MONTHS TO 5 YEARS

Background: Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection (ALRI) is the leading cause of under-5 childhood morbidity in the world, with nearly 156 million new episodes each year, of which India accounts for a bulk of 43 million. The mortality burden is 1.9 million per year, out of which India accounts for around four hundred thousand deaths per year. Objective: To study the various risk factors, clinical prole and outcome of acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRI) in children aged 2 months to 5 years. Methods: 100 ALRI cases fullling WHO criteria for pneumonia, in the age group of 2 month to 5 years were evaluated for potential risk factors, clinical prole and outcome as per a predesigned proforma in a rural medical college. Results: Socio-demographic risk factors like parental illiteracy, overcrowding, partial immunization and low socioeconomic status were potential risk factors. Nutritional risk factors like early and late introduction of complementary foods, anemia and malnutrition were associated with ALRI. Environmental risk factors were use of biomass fuels, inadequate ventilation at home, and lack of separate kitchen. Conclusion: The present study has identied various socio-demographic, nutritional and environmental risk factors for ALRI which can be tackled by effective health education of the community and effective training of peripheral health personnel.

Threat of air pollution in the cleanest plateau

Threat of air pollution in the cleanest plateau

Analysis of a Combined Solar Drying System for Wood-Chips, Sawdust, and Pellets

The future of conventional fuels has limited sustainability and creates disquietude because of the ubiquitous energy crisis worldwide. The judicious use of biomass or wood-based fuels is inevitable. The quality of wood fuels depends on the moisture content, and subsequently, solar drying solutions can play a vital role in adequately storing and controlling moisture in the fuels. In the present study, a novel forced convection cabinet-type solar dryer was developed and investigated for its thermal performance. An artificial neural network (ANN model) was created to predict the final moisture content of the drying system. The drying behavior of three distinct wood fuels, i.e., woodchips, sawdust, and pellets, was kept under observation to plot the drying curve based on their calculated moisture ratio. The dryer reached a maximum temperature of 60 °C while maintaining a temperature gradient of 10–20 °C. The maximum thermal energy and exergy efficiency was recorded as 55% and 51.1%, respectively. The ANN-optimized model was found suitable with reasonable values of coefficient of correlation (R) for the model.

Burden of Respiratory Diseases Attributable to Household Air Pollution in Nepal: National and Provincial Estimates

Background: Household air pollution (HAP) is widespread in Nepal particularly in rural poor households where use of unprocessed biomass fuels (wood, animal dung and crop residues) for cooking is abundant. Studies have shown that health effects associated with HAP are primarily respiratory and cardiovascular diseases which are amongst the top burden of diseases in Nepal.
 Objective: The study is conducted to estimate Attributable Fraction (AF) and corresponding Attributable Burden (AB) of diseases such as childhood pneumonia, acute respiratory infection/pneumonia and COPD/asthma which can be associated with HAP in Nepal, nationally and sub-nationally.
 Materials and Methods: Estimates on fuel use in Nepal disaggregated by rural and urban areas and provinces are obtained from Nepal Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (NMICS), 2019 published by Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The corresponding total disease burdens of Nepal related to respiratory diseases are obtained from the Department of Health Services (DoHS) for 2019/20. Estimates of model coefficients of the targeted respiratory diseases that can be attributed to HAP are obtained from several studies conducted previously in Nepal. Methodology adopted by World Health Organization (WHO) for estimation of AF and AB is applied in the present analysis.
 Results: The estimated AF and AB of childhood pneumonia, ARI/pneumonia and COPD/asthma are obtained as 34.6% (95% CI = 7.4%-56.4%) and 7.3 (96% CI = 1.5-11.8) per 1000 under five children, 42.5% and 63.6 per 1000 population and 54.8% and 10.3 per 1000 population, respectively. AFs are found substantially higher (1.3-1.5 times) in rural Nepal compared to urban Nepal. Provincially, Karnali is found worst affected with highest attributions (45.3% - 65.6%) for the accounted burden of diseases and Bagmati found least affected with lowest attributions (18.7% - 34.6%) for the year 2019/20.
 Conclusion: HAP is found to be a potential risk factor with high attributions for the occurrence of respiratory ailments in Nepal.

A review on household air pollution and biomass use over Kenya

Household air pollution (HAP) causes multiple noncommunicable diseases, such as pneumonia, stroke, and ischemic heart disease, and is responsible for over 3.8 million deaths globally per year. Kenya has a high rate of HAP, mainly caused by solid fuels. This review assesses its effect and identifies factors that could improve policy in Kenya. A systematic review approach is used, mainly considering 88 research articles on the Web of Science, published from 1951 to 2022. We excluded studies on HAP caused by other forms of fuel, subjective study types, and studies focusing on animals. The results show that rural settings and urban slums have more HAP, ventilation is an important factor, HAP is high in the evening, and children and women health is significantly affected. There is a need for interventions to reduce the use of biomass fuels in Kenya. The interventions include improved access to efficient cookstoves with ventilation, community health awareness about ventilation, housing rules for better ventilation in rural and urban areas, and NGO partnership for improving access to improved cookstoves in rural areas. The government’s role includes subsidizing the supply and cost of renewable energy and adopting energy policies that encourage populations to switch to more efficient cookstoves, cleaner energy, and modern biofuels.

Community Based Prospective Study of Miscarriages in Context of Biomass Fuel use by Tribal Women of Rural Remote Region

Background: Miscarriage is one of most prevalent negative reproductive outcomes which affects women’s health globally. Knowing occurrence, causes, prevention of recurrence are great challenges. Exposure to air pollutant may be responsible for higher risk of miscarriage. Objective: Community based prospective study was carried out to know about the occurrence of miscarriages in context of Biomass fuel use by rural tribal, pregnant women. Setting: Villages and Dr. Sushila Nayar Hospital, Utavali, Melghat, Amravati Maharashtra. Methods: After approval of the institute’s ethics committee, study was conducted in 100 villages. After base information, villages were divided into 50 study, 50 controls, subdivided into 40 study villages with advocacy for protection from ill effects of Biomass fuel, 40 non-advocacy controls and 10 study villages where in addition to advocacy Chimneys were fixed on roofs of huts with no windows, for exit of smoke and 10 controls where neither advocacy was done nor Chimneys were fixed. Main Outcome Measures: Change in occurrence of miscarriage with Biomass fuel use. Results: In 50 study villages, of 1005 pregnancies, 2.8% reported miscarriages and in 50 controls, of 1097 pregnancies 3.1% had miscarriage. Of 2700 pregnancies in 40 Advocacy study villages 6.6%, of 40 controls of 2700 pregnancies, 10.5% had miscarriages. In 10 villages with Advocacy as well as Chimneys, of 700 pregnancies, 2.4% had miscarriages in 10 controls, of 700 pregnancies 5.6% ended in miscarriages. In first year it could have been underreporting. Conclusion: In rural tribal women miscarriages were not more than globally known, but Biomass fuel did affect occurrence of miscarriages.

Influence Of Socio-Economic Factors In The Use Of Biomass Fuels In Enugu State, Nigeria

Biomass fuels are used by a large proportion of households in most developing countries, including Nigeria, because they are readily available or relatively inexpensive. The purpose of this study was to determine how socioeconomic factors influence the use of biomass cooking fuels in Nigeria's Enugu State. The survey was cross-sectional, and multistage sampling was used. The samples included 502 respondents from 232 households in 6 of Enugu State's 17 Local Government Areas. The sample size was calculated using Fisher's formula. A structured questionnaire was distributed to the respondents, and observations were made. To arrive at results, data was collected and analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. According to the study, 94% of respondents use biomass fuels, with 73% using unprocessed wood. Only 6% of them use fossil fuels. Ninety-one percent (91%) of households earn less than N61,000 per month on average, with only about 1% earning more than N90,000 per month. It was also discovered that 88% of respondents had no more than a secondary school education, and 75% lived in rural areas. This study found a high level of poverty and a low level of education among the study population in Enugu State, which translates to a high use of biomass fuels, particularly unprocessed wood (firewood). The study's findings confirm that socioeconomic factors such as household income level, educational status, and so on influence greater use of biomass fuels when they are readily available and at little or no cost to the people.

Assessment of Health Risks Associated with Particulate Matter and Carbon Monoxide Emissions from Biomass Fuels Utilization in Western Kenya

Purpose: The use of biomass fuels poses great threats to environmental degradation and public health risk accounting for 32% of the total attributable burden of diseases due to indoor air pollution (IAP) in especially Africa. Heavy reliance on biomass fuels for household energy in Kenya makes the country more vulnerable with 90% of the rural population relying on biomass fuels for domestic purposes. The objective of this study was to assess cooking fuel types and efficiency of improved biomass stoves in fuel consumption in Western, Kenya.
 Methodology: The data were collected through continuous real-time monitoring of kitchen Particulate Matter and Carbon II Oxide concentration for a period of 24 hours using UCB-PATS and CO monitors, questionnaires and time activity budgets. The total target population was 383 households and 204 households were selected as the sample size for HH survey. The sample size was determined using sample size algorithm by Boyd et al. (2014) where a sample size is determined by the sample population size. Selection of households for indoor air monitoring was done through quasi system where there was a predefined criterion from survey data. Tables and means were used to present results.
 Findings: The study found that Hazard quotients (HQ) for both long-term and short-term PM exposure using all stoves were all above 1 implying that health risk is real. During 24-hour cooking duration, three-stone stove using crop residues produced 145.8 times higher PM2.5 compared to RfD (Reference Dose) value while Cheprocket produced 26.4 times higher than PM2.5 RfD. People using solid biomass fuels are likely to experience headaches and running nose by the end of 24-hour period as a result of CO exposure when mud rocket stove, three stone stove and Cheprocket stoves were used. However cooks who use Chepkube stoves are not likely to experience any adverse health effects from CO exposures since the HQs were less than 1 using both wood and crop residues as fuel. The study concluded that, improved biomass stoves provided an overall reduction in pollutant concentration compared to three-stone fire but the local innovation Chepkube stove that has been classified as ungraded stove had the highest pollutant reduction. There is no health risk associated with exposure to peak CO within the 1-hour duration from all biomass stoves monitored in the study area.
 Recommendation: The study recommended that user education is necessary on kitchen practices to reduce overall exposure from improved stove utilization.

Use of biomass fuels predicts indoor particulate matter and carbon monoxide concentrations; evidence from an informal urban settlement in Fort Portal city, Uganda

BackgroundPoor indoor air quality (IAQ) is a leading cause of respiratory and cardiopulmonary illnesses. Particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) are critical indicators of IAQ, yet there is limited evidence of their concentrations in informal urban settlements in low-income countries.ObjectiveThis study assessed household characteristics that predict the concentrations of PM2.5 and CO within households in an informal settlement in Fort Portal City, Uganda.MethodologyA cross-sectional study was conducted in 374 households. Concentrations of PM2.5 and CO were measured using a multi-purpose laser particle detector and a carbon monoxide IAQ meter, respectively. Data on household characteristics were collected using a structured questionnaire and an observational checklist. Data were analysed using STATA version 14.0. Linear regression was used to establish the relationship between PM2.5, CO concentrations and household cooking characteristics.ResultsThe majority (89%, 332/374) of the households used charcoal for cooking. More than half (52%, 194/374) cooked outdoors. Cooking areas had significantly higher PM2.5 and CO concentrations (t = 18.14, p ≤ 0.05) and (t = 5.77 p ≤ 0.05), respectively. Cooking outdoors was associated with a 0.112 increase in the PM2.5 concentrations in the cooking area (0.112 [95% CI: -0.069, 1.614; p = 0.033]). Cooking with moderately polluting fuel was associated with a 0.718 increase in CO concentrations (0.718 [95% CI: 0.084, 1.352; p = 0.027]) in the living area.ConclusionsThe cooking and the living areas had high concentrations of PM2.5 and CO during the cooking time. Cooking with charcoal resulted in higher CO in the living area. Furthermore, cooking outdoors did not have a protective effect against PM2.5, and ambient PM2.5 exceeded the WHO Air quality limits. Interventions to improve the indoor air quality in informal settlements should promote a switch to cleaner cooking energy and improvement in the ambient air quality.