Use Of Clean Fuels Research Articles

Reduction of atmospheric emissions due to switching from fuel oil to natural gas at a power plant in a critical area in Central Mexico

ABSTRACT A case study was conducted to evaluate the SO2 emission reduction in a power plant in Central Mexico, as a result of the shifting of fuel oil to natural gas. Emissions of criteria pollutants, greenhouse gases, organic and inorganic toxics were estimated based on a 2010 report of hourly fuel oil consumption at the “Francisco Pérez Ríos” power plant in Tula, Mexico. For SO2, the dispersion of these emissions was assessed with the CALPUFF dispersion model. Emissions reductions of > 99% for SO2, PM and Pb, as well as reductions >50% for organic and inorganic toxics were observed when simulating the use of natural gas. Maximum annual (993 µg/m3) and monthly average SO2 concentrations were simulated during the cold-dry period (152–1063 µg/m3), and warm-dry period (239–432 µg/m3). Dispersion model results and those from Mexico City’s air quality forecasting system showed that SO2 emissions from the power plant affect the north of Mexico City in the cold-dry period. The evaluation of model estimates with 24 hr SO2 measured concentrations at Tepeji del Rio suggests that the combination of observations and dispersion models are useful in assessing the reduction of SO2 emissions due to shifting in fuels. Being SO2 a major precursor of acid rain, high transported sulfate concentrations are of concern and low pH values have been reported in the south of Mexico City, indicating that secondary SO2 products emitted in the power plant can be transported to Mexico City under specific atmospheric conditions. Implications: Although the surroundings of a power plant located north of Mexico City receives most of the direct SO2 impact from fuel oil emissions, the plume is dispersed and advected to the Mexico City metropolitan area, where its secondary products may cause acid rain. The use of cleaner fuels may assure significant SO2 reductions in the plant emissions and consequent acid rain presence in nearby populated cities and should be compulsory in critical areas to comply with annual emission limits and health standards.

Designing a comprehensive behaviour change intervention to promote and monitor exclusive use of liquefied petroleum gas stoves for the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial

IntroductionIncreasing use of cleaner fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and abandonment of solid fuels is key to reducing household air pollution and realising potential health improvements in low-income...

Estimated health impacts from maritime transport in the Mediterranean region and benefits from the use of cleaner fuels

Ship traffic emissions degrade air quality in coastal areas and contribute to climate impacts globally. The estimated health burden of exposure to shipping emissions in coastal areas may inform policy makers as they seek to reduce exposure and associated potential health impacts. This work estimates the PM2.5-attributable impacts in the form of premature mortality and cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions, from long-term exposure to shipping emissions. Health impact assessment (HIA) was performed in 8 Mediterranean coastal cities, using a baseline conditions from the literature and a policy case accounting for the MARPOL Annex VI rules requiring cleaner fuels in 2020. Input data were (a) shipping contributions to ambient PM2.5 concentrations based on receptor modelling studies found in the literature, (b) population and health incidence data from national statistical registries, and (c) geographically-relevant concentration-response functions from the literature. Long-term exposure to ship-sourced PM2.5 accounted for 430 (95% CI: 220–650) premature deaths per year, in the 8 cities, distributed between groups of cities: Barcelona and Athens, with >100 premature deaths/year, and Nicosia, Brindisi, Genoa, Venice, Msida and Melilla, with tens of premature deaths/year. The more stringent standards in 2020 would reduce the number of PM2.5-attributable premature deaths by 15% on average. HIA provided a comparative assessment of the health burden of shipping emissions across Mediterranean coastal cities, which may provide decision support for urban planning with a special focus on harbour areas, and in view of the reduction in sulphur content of marine fuels due to MARPOL Annex VI in 2020.

Cooking fuels and risk of all-cause and cardiopulmonary mortality in urban China: a prospective cohort study

SummaryBackgroundCooking practice has transitioned from use of solid fuels to use of clean fuels, with addition of better ventilation facilities. However, the change in mortality risk associated with such a transition remains unclear.MethodsThe China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) Study enrolled participants (aged 30–79 years) from ten areas across China; we chose to study participants from five urban areas where transition from use of solid fuels to clean fuels for cooking was prevalent. Participants who reported regular cooking (weekly or more frequently) at baseline were categorised as persistent clean fuel users, previous solid fuel users, or persistent solid fuel users, according to self-reported fuel use histories. All-cause and cardiopulmonary mortality were identified through linkage to China's Disease Surveillance Point system and local mortality records.FindingsBetween June 24, 2004, and July 15, 2008, 226 186 participants living in five urban areas of China were enrolled in the CKB Study. Among 171 677 participants who reported cooking regularly (weekly or more frequently), 75 785 (44%) were persistent clean fuel users, 80 511 (47%) were previous solid fuel users, and 15 381 (9%) were persistent solid fuel users. During a mean of 9·8 (SD 1·7) years of follow-up, 10 831 deaths were documented, including 3819 cardiovascular deaths and 761 respiratory deaths. Compared with persistent clean fuel users, persistent solid fuel users had significantly higher risks of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1·19, 95% CI 1·10–1·28), cardiovascular mortality (1·24, 1·10–1·39), and respiratory mortality (1·43, 1·10–1·85). The excess risk of all-cause and cardiopulmonary mortality fell by more than 60% in 5 years after cessation of solid fuel use and continued to decrease afterwards. Use of ventilation was associated with lower all-cause mortality risk, even among persistent clean fuel users (HR 0·78, 0·69–0·89).InterpretationSolid fuel use for cooking is associated with a higher risk of mortality, and cessation of solid fuel use cuts excess mortality risks swiftly and substantially within 5 years. Ventilation use also lowers the risk of mortality, even among people who persistently use clean fuels. It is of prime importance for both policy makers and the public to accelerate the transition from solid fuels to clean fuels and promote efficient ventilation to minimise further adverse health effects.FundingNational Natural Science Foundation of China, Wellcome Trust, and Kadoorie Charitable Foundation.

Trends and factors associated with acute respiratory infection among under five children in Zambia: evidence from Zambia's demographic and health surveys (1996-2014).

Introductionacute respiratory infection (ARI) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children under the age of five years globally accounting for 16% of deaths. In Zambia, ARI accounts for 30-40% of children's outpatient attendance and 20-30% of hospital admissions. We assessed trends and factors associated with ARI among under-five children in Zambia from 1996 to 2014.Methodswe analysed the Zambia demographic and health survey data for 1996, 2002, 2007 and 2014 of under five children and their mothers. We extracted data using a data extraction tool from the women's file. We analysed trends using chi square for trends. We conducted a complex survey multivariable logistic regression analysis, reported adjusted odds ratios (AOR) 95% confidence intervals (CI) and p-values.Resultswe included a total of 6,854 and 2,389 (8%) had symptoms consistent with ARI. A 2% upward trend was noted between the 1996 and 2002 surveys but a sharp decline of 10% occurred in 2007. The chi2 trend test was significant p < 0.001. Children whose mothers had secondary or higher education were less likely to have ARI (AOR 0.30 95% CI 0.15-0.58) compared to those with no education. Underweight children had 1.50 times increased odds of having ARI (AOR 1.50 95% CI 1.25 - 1.68) compared with children who were not. Use of biomass fuels such as charcoal (AOR 2.67 95% CI 2.09 - 3.42) and wood (2.79 95% CI 2.45 -3.19) were associated with high odds for ARI compared to electricity.Conclusionthe prevalence of ARI has declined in Zambia from 1996 to 2014. Factors associated with occurrence of ARI included being a child under one year, underweight, use of biomass fuel such as charcoal and wood. Interventions to reduce the burden of ARI should be targeted at scaling up nutrition programs, as well as promoting use of cleaner fuels.

Barriers and Facilitators to the Adoption and Sustained Use of Cleaner Fuels in Southwest Cameroon: Situating 'Lay' Knowledge within Evidence-Based Policy and Practice.

Approximately four million people die each year in low- and middle-income countries from household air pollution (HAP) due to inefficient cooking with solid fuels. Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) offers a clean energy option in the transition towards renewable energy. This qualitative study explored lay knowledge of barriers and facilitators to scaling up clean fuels in Cameroon, informed by Quinn et al.’s Logic Model. The model has five domains and we focused on the user and community needs domain, reporting the findings of 28 semi-structured interviews (SSIs) and four focus group discussions (FGDs) that explored the reasons behind fuel use choices. The findings suggest that affordability, safety, convenience, and awareness of health issues are all important influences on decision making to the adoption and sustained use of LPG, with affordability being the most critical issue. We also found the ability of clean fuels to meet cooking needs to be central to decision-making, rather than an aspect of convenience, as the logic model suggests. Local communities provide important insights into the barriers and facilitators to using clean fuels. We adapt Quinn et al.’s logic model accordingly, giving more weight to lay knowledge so that it is better positioned to inform policy development.

Evaluation of different control measures in 2014 to mitigate the impact of ship emissions on air quality in the Pearl River Delta, China

Various control measures have been proposed to reduce ship emissions. However, improvements in air quality after its implementation have rarely been evaluated on a regional scale. To fill this gap, this study employed the Weather Research and Forecast model coupled with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) model to investigate the improvement in air quality under scenarios separately implementing different control measures. The domestic emission control area (DECA) in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of China was selected as the target area for the study. The results suggest that the use of cleaner fuels is a promising way to improve air quality. For vessels sailing in the DECA, using 0.5% sulfur-content fuel could reduce SO2 and PM2.5 by 0.52 μg/m3 and 1.43 μg/m3, respectively, in the target cities of PRD, while 0.1% sulfur-content fuel could increase these figures to 0.59 μg/m3 and 1.62 μg/m3, respectively. The use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel was predicted to be the most effective method for air quality improvement. LNG fuel could reduce the annual average concentrations of SO2, NO2 and PM2.5 by 0.63 μg/m3, 2.80 μg/m3 and 2.14 μg/m3, respectively, in the target cities of PRD. The application of shore side electricity (SSE) would reduce the ship-contributed SO2 and PM2.5 by 0.33 μg/m3 and 1.06 μg/m3, respectively. For the NOX control, the retrofit of the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system could reduce the ambient concentrations of NO2 and PM2.5 by 2.09 μg/m3 and 0.15 μg/m3, respectively. These results suggest that the use of cleaner fuels and the retrofit SCR system all have positive effects on lowering the impact of ship emissions, while the application of SSE could be a useful supplement.

Where there is smoke: solid fuel externalities, gender, and adult respiratory health in India

Chronic respiratory conditions are a leading cause of death in the world. Using data on lung obstruction from the WHO Survey of Global Ageing and Adult Health (WHO-SAGE 2007–2008), this paper studies the determinants of respiratory health in India, home to a third of all deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. First, we find that smokers and members of households that use solid fuels (wood, biomass, coal, or dung) for cooking have higher lung obstruction. Second, even if a respondent’s household uses clean fuels, their lung obstruction is higher if their neighbors use solid fuels. In neighborhoods with high solid fuel use, the lungs of members of households that use clean fuels can be as obstructed as lungs of members of households that use solid fuels. These negative externalities of solid fuel use are robust to additional controls for neighborhood socioeconomic status, falsification tests, tests with placebo measures, and tests using alternative measures of respiratory health as outcomes. Third, the influence of the determinants is patterned by gender. Smoking tobacco is an important influence on lung obstruction among men. Confirming non-linear dose–response relationships, we find that women from households that use solid fuels are the only group not further harmed by neighborhood solid fuel smoke, possibly because of high exposure to pollutants while cooking. The study improves our understanding of behavioral, social, and environmental determinants of respiratory health in India. Importantly, it makes a case for greater public investments to promote the adoption and use of cleaner fuels.

Ischaemic heart disease and stroke mortality by specific coal type among non-smoking women with substantial indoor air pollution exposure in China.

Lifetime use of bituminous ('smoky') coal is associated with nearly a 100-fold higher risk of lung cancer mortality compared with anthracite ('smokeless') coal use in rural Xuanwei, China, among women. Risk of mortality from ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke for these coal types has not been evaluated. A cohort of 16323 non-smoking women in Xuanwei, who were lifetime users of either smoky or smokeless coal, were followed up from 1976 to 2011. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to evaluate lifetime use of coal types and stoves in the home in relation to risk of IHD and stroke mortality. Among lifetime users of smokeless coal, higher average exposure intensity (≥4 tons/year vs <2.5 tons/year, HR = 7.9, 95% CI = 3.5-17.8; Ptrend=<0.0001) and cumulative exposure (>64 ton-years vs ≤28 ton-years, HR = 6.5, 95% CI = 1.5-28.3; Ptrend=0.003) during follow-up and over their lifetime was associated with increased IHD mortality, and ventilated stove use dramatically reduced this risk (HR = 0.2, 95% CI 0.1-0.5). Higher cumulative exposure to smoky coal during follow-up showed positive associations with IHD mortality, but the evidence for other metrics was less consistent compared with associations with smokeless coal use. Higher use of smokeless coal, which is burned throughout China and is generally regarded to be a cleaner fuel type, is associated with IHD mortality. Use of cleaner fuels or stove interventions may be effective in reducing the increasing burden of IHD in developing regions that currently rely on smokeless coal for cooking and heating.

Solid Fuel Use and Incident COPD in Chinese Adults: Findings from the China Kadoorie Biobank.

Background:Solid fuels are widely used in China. Household air pollution from the burning of solid fuels may increase the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but prospective evidence is limited.Objectives:We examined the association of solid fuel use for cooking and heating with the risk of COPD in a prospective cohort study.Methods:Participants were from the China Kadoorie Biobank. Current and previous fuels used for household cooking and heating were self-reported at baseline in 2004–2008. In the present study, “solid fuels” refers to coal and wood, whereas “cleaner fuels” refers to energy sources that presumably produce lower levels of indoor pollution, including electricity, gas, and central heating. A total of 475,827 adults 30–79 y of age without prevalent COPD were followed through the end of 2015. We used adjusted Cox regression models to estimate hazard ratios for COPD.Results:Over 9.1 y of follow-up, 9,835 incident COPD cases were reported. Compared with the use of cleaner fuels for cooking, using coal and wood for cooking was positively associated with COPD, with fully adjusted HRs of 1.06 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.15) and 1.14 (95% CI: 1.06, 1.23), respectively. Adjusted HRs for heating with coal and wood were 1.16 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.29) and 1.21 (95% CI: 1.09, 1.35), respectively. The positive association between cooking with solid fuel and COPD appeared to be limited to women and never- (vs. ever-) smokers. COPD risk increased with a higher number of years of solid fuel use for heating and wood use for cooking.Conclusions:The use of solid fuel for cooking and heating was associated with the increased risk of COPD in this prospective cohort study. Studies with more accurate exposure assessment are needed to confirm the association. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP2856

Promoting LPG usage during pregnancy: A pilot study in rural Maharashtra, India

Household air pollution from the combustion of biomass and coal is estimated to cause approximately 780,000 premature deaths a year in India. The government has responded by promoting uptake of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by tens of millions of poor rural families. Many poor households with new LPG stoves, however, continue to partially use traditional smoky chulhas. Our primary objective was to evaluate three strategies to transition pregnant women in rural Maharashtra to exclusive use of LPG for cooking. We also measured reductions in kitchen concentrations of PM2.5 before and after our interventions. Our core intervention was a free stove, 2 free LPG cylinders (one on loan until delivery), and repeated health messaging. We measured stove usage of both the traditional and intervention stoves until delivery. In households that received the core intervention, an average of 66% days had no indoor cooking on a chulha. In an adjacent area, we evaluated a conditional cash transfer (CCT) based on usage of LPG in addition to the core intervention. Results were less successful, due to challenges implementing the CCT. Pregnant women in a third nearby area received the core intervention plus a maximum of one 14.2 kg cylinder per month of free fuel. In their homes, 90% of days had no indoor cooking on a chulha. On average, exclusive LPG use decreased kitchen concentrations of PM2.5 by approximately 85% (from 520 to 72 μg/m3). 85% of participating households agreed to pay the deposit on the 2nd cylinder. This high purchase rate suggests they valued how the second cylinder permitted continuous LPG supply. A program to increase access to second cylinders may, thus, be a straightforward way to encourage use of clean fuels in rural areas.

Energies of Adsorbed Catalytic Intermediates on Transition Metal Surfaces: Calorimetric Measurements and Benchmarks for Theory.

Better catalysts and electrocatalysts are essential for the production and use of clean fuels with less pollution and improved energy efficiency, for making chemicals with less energy and environmental impact, for pollution abatement, and for many other future technologies needed to achieve environmentally friendlier energy supply and chemicals industry. Crucial for rational design of better catalyst and electrocatalyst materials is knowledge of the energies of elementary chemical reactions on late transition metal surfaces. This knowledge would also aid in designing more efficient and stable photocatalysts and batteries for harvesting and storing solar energy. These are all crucial for sustainable living with high quality. Herein, I review measurements of surface reaction energies involving many of the most common adsorbates formed as intermediates on late transition metal surfaces in catalytic and electrocatalytic reactions of interest for energy and environmental technologies. I focus on calorimetric measurements of the heat of molecular and dissociative adsorption of gases on single crystals (i.e., single crystal adsorption calorimetry, or SCAC) that allow the heats of formation of adsorbed intermediates in well-defined structures to be directly determined. Adsorption reactions are often irreversible, and in such cases SCAC is required to get these heats, since the other methods for measuring adsorption energies (equilibrium adsorption isotherms and temperature-programmed desorption) work only for reversible adsorption. Common examples of irreversible adsorption reactions are ones that produce adsorbed molecular fragments or adsorbed molecules such as olefins and aromatic molecules that bind very strongly to non-noble metals. When the heats of formation of different adsorbed molecular fragments are compared to each other, and to their values on different metal surfaces, they reveal which properties of the metal surface and the molecular fragments determine metal-adsorbate bond strengths, and clarify differences in catalytic reactivity between different metals. When combined with earlier adsorption energy measurements, these heats also provide a database of reliable energies of adsorbed catalytic intermediates that serve as crucial benchmarks to guide the development of improved computational methods for calculating the energetics of elementary steps on late transition metal surfaces (i.e., reaction energies and activation barriers), such as density functional theory. The energy accuracy of such computational estimates is crucial for the future of catalysis research and catalyst discovery.

Vision based algorithm for automated determination of smoke point of diesel blends

Current regulations restrict NOx and particulate emissions (PM) produced by new vehicles. One solution for reducing these emissions, mainly PM, is focused on the use of cleaner fuels. In this sense, the smoke point test (SP) has been proved to be a fast tool when comparing the sooting tendency of fuels. As manual SP determination can imply an error owing to the inherent uncertainty of visual flame observation, the updated ASTM D1322-18 has stated that the new commercial equipment SP10 Automated Smoke Point Analyser is the reference for SP determination. However, its high cost has motivated this work where a vision based algorithm for automated determination of SP without wick-fed modifications is proposed. Experimental results demonstrate the accuracy and repeatability of the proposed method.

On the nexus of air pollution and health expenditures: new empirical evidence

ObjectiveTo analyse the impact of per capita income and environmental air quality variables on health expenditure determinants. MethodIn this study, we analyse the relationship between air pollution and health expenditure in 29 OECD countries over the period 1995-2014. In addition, we test whether our findings differ between countries with higher or lower incomes. ResultsThe econometric results show that per capita income has a positive effect on health expenditure, but is not as statistically significant as expected when lag-time is incorporated. In addition, an anchorage effect is observed, which implies that about 80%-90% of previous expenditure explain current expenditure. Our empirical results are quite consistent between groups and when compared with the full sample. Nevertheless, there appear to be some differences when broken down by financing scheme (total, public, and private). ConclusionsOverall, our findings could be used to clarify the appropriate health expenditure level or to obtain better environmental quality and social well-being. That is, empirical support is provided on how health management and policy makers should include more considerations for the use of cleaner fuels in developed countries.

South Shore Clean Cities – Increasing Environmental Benefits through Reduction

For nearly twenty years, Carl and Lorrie Lisek have been making the Lake Michigan Region a greener place. As entrepreneurs, they consciously work toward their mission of leaving the world a better place for their children. South Shore Clean Cities collaborates with a variety of programs and institutions to “revitalize Northern Indiana by promoting the use of clean fuels and clean vehicle technologies”. They strongly believe in improving air quality, developing economic opportunities and reducing the use of imported oil. As their success continues, South Shore Clean Cities has an opportunity to further its impact on the region and the globe.

Adoption and sustained use of cleaner cooking fuels in rural India: a case control study protocol to understand household, network, and organizational drivers

BackgroundImplementing efficient stoves and clean fuels in low and middle-income countries are critical for improving health of poor women and children and improve the environment. Cleaner biomass stoves, however, perform poorly against the World Health Organization’s indoor air quality guidelines. This has shifted the focus to systematic dissemination and implementation of cleaner cooking systems such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) among poor communities. Even when there is some uptake of LPG by poor communities, its sustained use has been low. Concurrent use of LPG with traditional biomass cookstoves compromises reductions in household air pollution and limits health and environmental dividends. Therefore understanding key drivers of adoption and sustained implementation of clean fuels among the poor is critical. There is a significant gap, however, in the research to understand determinants and sustained exclusive use of clean fuels in rural poor communities.Methods/designUsing a case control study design, this study will explore the impact of affordability, accessibility, and awareness on adoption and sustained use of LPG among rural poor communities of India. The study uses a multistage random sampling to collect primary data from 510 households. Case group or LPG adopters constitute 255 households while control group or non-LPG adopters constitute the remaining 255 households. The study will deploy sophisticated stove use monitoring sensors in each of the stoves in 100 case group households to monitor stove use and stacking behavior (using clean and traditional systems of cooking) of participants for 12 months. Moreover, this will be the first study to explore the impact of personal social networks striated by gender on LPG adoption. This study is guided by the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) implementation science evaluation framework.DiscussionLessons from this study will feed into a larger discussion on developing a pro-poor strategy to foster uptake and sustained use of cleaner cooking systems such as LPG. Understanding the determinants of adoption and sustained use of cleaner cooking systems through the RE-AIM framework will expand our insights on implementation of cleaner cooking systems among poor communities and will advance implementation science in the clean cooking sector. A thorough study of such implementation strategies is crucial to realize multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals on global health, climate change, and energy security.

Laboratory experiments regarding the use of filtration and retained heat to reduce particulate matter emissions from biomass cooking

There are a number of methods to help reduce the exposure to household air pollution associated with using biomass fuel for daily cooking and heating in nearly 40% of global households. These most commonly include use of cleaner fuels and cookstoves, increasing ventilation, and use of a chimney. This paper investigates two less-commonly considered methods, 1) reducing exposure through filtration and capture of PM2.5 and 2) avoiding emissions using retained heat for cooking. If cookstoves are operated inside an enclosure from which smoke is pulled by a fan through an inexpensive HEPA-type filter before exiting to the outside, the personal exposure levels, room concentrations, and external pollution might be reduced. To test this method, an enclosure was built from which a box fan pulled the air and PM2.5 through a filter, and four different filters were tested. The rate of PM2.5 production (mg/min) exiting the filter was monitored with gravimetric measurement under an emissions hood during the high and low power phases of the Water Boiling Test 4.2.3 conducted on a biomass rocket stove with forced draft. The average of seven baseline emissions tests with no filter was 7.5mg/min of PM2.5. The average of seven tests using the highest quality furnace filter (3M 2200) was reduced to 1.5mg/min and the difference was significant at 95% confidence. The use of retained heat to simmer also reduced emissions of PM2.5 to zero by burning the boil-phase-made-charcoal while 5l of water were simmered for 35min.

Diesel and Spark Ignition Engines Emissions and After-Treatment Control: Research and Advancements

One of the major risks mankind has encountered during recent years is, without a doubt, the anthropogenic contribution to environmental pollution [...]

Elevated blood pressure and household solid fuel use in premenopausal women: Analysis of 12 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from 10 countries

BackgroundApproximately three billion people are exposed to household air pollution (HAP) from solid fuel cookstoves. Studies from single settings have linked HAP with elevated blood pressure (BP), but no evidence exists from multi-country analyses. ObjectivesUsing nationally representative and internationally comparable data, we examined the association between solid fuel use and BP in 77,605 largely premenopausal women (aged 15–49) from ten resource-poor countries. MethodsWe obtained data on systolic and diastolic BP, self-reported primary cooking fuel, health and socio-demographic characteristics from 12 Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Benin, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Namibia, and Peru. We estimated associations between history of fuel use [solid fuel (coal or biomass) versus clean fuel (electricity or gas)] with systolic and diastolic BP and hypertension using a meta-analytical approach. ResultsOverall, the country-level mean systolic and diastolic BP were 117 (range: 111–127) and 74 (71–83) mmHg, respectively. The country-level mean age of the women was 30.8 years (range: 28.4–32.9). The prevalence of solid fuel use was 46.0% (range: 4.1–95.8). In adjusted, pooled analyses, primary use of solid fuel was associated with 0.58mmHg higher systolic BP (95% CI: 0.23, 0.93) as compared to primary use of clean fuel. The pooled estimates for diastolic BP and pulse pressure were also positive, but the confidence intervals contained zero. The pooled odds of hypertension was [OR = 1.07 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.16)], an effect that was driven by rural participants for whom solid fuel use was associated with a 16% greater odds of hypertension [OR = 1.16 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.35)]. ConclusionsCooking with solid fuels was associated with small increases in BP and odds of hypertension. Use of cleaner fuels like gas or electricity may reduce cardiovascular risk in developing countries, particularly among rural residents.

Impact of cleaner fuel use and improved stoves on acute respiratory infections: evidence from India.

The use of cleaner fuel and improved stoves has been promoted as a means to lower harmful emissions from solid fuels. However, little is known about how exclusive use of cleaner fuels, mixed fuel use and improved stoves influences children's health. We compared the impact of using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exclusively with mixed fuel use (LPG plus polluting fuels) and with exclusive use of polluting fuels on acute respiratory infections (ARI) among 16 157 children 0-4 years of age from households in the 2012 Indian Human Development Survey. Inverse probability weighting (IPW) procedures for multiple treatments were used for this evaluation. Children from households using LPG had a 5.0% lower probability of reporting ARI relative to exclusive users of polluting fuels, with larger effects (10.7%) in rural households. The probability of ARI in households using improved stoves and mixed fuel use was also lower in rural households, by 2.9% and 2.8%, respectively. The magnitude of effect varied across population subgroups, with the highest effects for children living in households living in kachha (low quality material) houses households identified as poor. Use of LPG and improved stoves lowered the probability of ARI among children younger than 5 years.