Chimney stoves modestly improved indoor air quality measurements compared with traditional open fire stoves

January 15, 2013 · 0 comments

Indoor Air. 2013 Jan 11. doi: 10.1111/ina.12027.

Chimney stoves modestly improved indoor air quality measurements compared with traditional open fire stoves: results from a small-scale intervention study in rural Peru.

Hartinger SM, Commodore AA, Hattendorf J, Lanata CF, Gil AI, Verastegui H, Aguilar-Villalobos M, Mäusezahl D, Naeher LP.
Instituto de Investigación Nutricional, Av. La Molina, 1885, Lima 12, Perú; Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, CH-4003, Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract

Nearly half of the world’s population depends on biomass fuels to meet domestic energy needs, producing high levels of pollutants responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality. We compare carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM(2.5) ) exposures and kitchen concentrations in households with study promoted intervention (OPTIMA-improved) stoves and control stoves in San Marcos Province, Cajamarca Region, Peru.

We determined 48hr indoor air concentration levels of CO and PM(2.5) in 93 kitchen environments and personal exposure, after OPTIMA-improved stoves had been installed for an average of seven months. PM(2.5) and CO measurements did not differ significantly between OPTIMA-improved stoves and control stoves. Although not statistically significant, a post-hoc stratification of OPTIMA-improved stoves by level of performance revealed mean PM(2.5) and CO levels of fully functional OPTIMA-improved stoves were 28% lower (n=20, PM(2.5,) 136μg/m(3) 95%CI 54-217) and 45% lower (n=25, CO, 3.2ppm, 95%CI 1.5-4.9) in the kitchen environment compared to the control stoves (n=34, PM(2.5) , 189μg/m(3) , 95%CI 116-261; n=44, CO, 5.8ppm, 95%CI 3.3-8-2).

Likewise, although not statistically significant, personal exposures for OPTIMA-improved stoves were 43% and 167% lower for PM(2.5) (n=23) and CO (n=25) respectively. Stove maintenance and functionality level are factors worthy of consideration for future evaluations of stove interventions.

Biomonitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure in pregnant women in Trujillo, Peru

January 15, 2013 · 0 comments

Environ Int. 2013 Jan 8;53C:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2012.11.010.

Biomonitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure in pregnant women in Trujillo, Peru – Comparison of different fuel types used for cooking.

Adetona O, Li Z, Sjödin A, Romanoff LC, Aguilar-Villalobos M, Needham LL, Hall DB, Cassidy BE, Naeher LP.
The University of Georgia, College of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Science, Athens, Georgia, USA.

Women and children in developing countries are often exposed to high levels of air pollution including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which may negatively impact their health, due to household combustion of biomass fuel for cooking and heating. We compared creatinine adjusted hydroxy-PAH (OH-PAH) concentrations in pregnant women in Trujillo, Peru who cook with wood to levels measured in those who cook with kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas or a combination of fuels. Seventy-nine women were recruited for the study between May and July 2004 in the first trimester of their pregnancy. Urine samples were collected from the subjects in the first, second and third trimesters for OH-PAH analyses.

The concentrations of the OH-PAHs were compared across the type of fuel used for cooking and pregnancy trimesters. The relationships between OH-PAHs levels in the first trimester and concurrently measured personal exposures to PM(2.5), carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide together with their indoor and outdoor air concentrations were also investigated. Women cooking with wood or kerosene had the highest creatinine adjusted OH-PAH concentrations compared with those using gas, coal briquette or a combination of fuels.

Concentrations of creatinine adjusted 2-hydroxy-fluorene, 3-hydroxy-fluorene, 1-hydroxy-fluorene, 2-hydroxy-phenanthrene and 4-hydroxy-phenanthrene were significantly higher (p<0.05) in women who used wood or kerosene alone compared with women who used liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), coal briquette or a combination of fuels. An increase in the concentrations of creatinine adjusted 9-hydroxy-fluorene, 1-hydroxy-phenanthrene, 2-hydroxy-phenanthrene, 4-hydroxy-phenanthrene and 1-hydroxy-pyrene in the third trimesters was also observed.

Weak positive correlation (Spearman correlation coefficient, ρ<0.4; p<0.05) was observed between all first trimester creatinine adjusted OH-PAHs and indoor (kitchen and living room), and personal 48-h TWA PM(2.5). Women who cooked exclusively with wood or kerosene had higher creatinine adjusted OH-PAH levels in their urine samples compared to women who cooked with LPG or coal briquette.

Cost & benefit analysis of improved cooking stoves in Bangladesh

January 10, 2013 · 1 comment

Cost & benefit analysis of improved cooking stoves in Bangladesh: A case study in Tangail District. BANGLADESH RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS JOURNAL, Nov-Dec 2012.

Md. Nazmul Alam, Shinji Kaneko and Md. Saifur Rahman

This study presents the results of the economic evaluation of the improved cooking stoves which were disseminated in Tangail district, Bangladesh. The economic analyses assessed the economic benefits for the households using the improved cooking stoves and the economic benefits derived from the reduction of CO2 emission due to the use of the improved cooking stoves on national level. It assesses the economic efficiency of the stove dissemination program from an overall economic view as well as that of the improved cooking stove’s use for the individual level.

Excerpts from the conclusions:

Technical Constraints – The process of designing and fabricating a more energy-efficient cooking stove is complex. It requires a combination of processes of combustion, several modes of heat transfer and fluid flow. The lack of raw materials is one of the main limiting factors for improved cooking stove manufacture. This study found that the lack of proper raw materials for ICS manufacture in the local NGO (ICS manufacturer) limits the quality of improved cooking stoves. Most of the time, the ICS are not made from quality materials (i. e., soil made). As a result, it is unable to work properly for a longer period of time.

Socio Cultural Obstacles – It was observed that social and religious factors and prejudices are against ICS diffusion. People do believe that by cooking with traditional stoves food might be tastier than by cooking with the improved cooking stoves. In rural areas, some informal kinds of fuel are popular and people source them by collecting them (free of cost) from their household surroundings, like straw, tree leafs, bamboo pieces, and so on. These types of fuel are not suitable for the ICS yet suitable for the traditional stove. Again it was found that, in an area where fuel (wood and other fuel for cooking) has no or very little cost implication, it would be difficult to motivate the people to replace their traditional stoves with the ICS.

Cooking up clean air in Africa: Reducing air pollution and meningitis risk in Ghana

January 7, 2013 · 0 comments

Cooking up clean air in Africa: Reducing air pollution and meningitis risk in Ghana | Source: PHYS.org, Jan 4, 2013

Three billion people around the world rely on wood, charcoal, agricultural waste, animal dung and coal for household cooking needs. They often burn these fuels inside their homes in poorly ventilated stoves or in open fires. The resulting miasma exposes families to air pollution levels as much as 50 times greater than World Health Organization guidelines for clean air, setting the stage for heart and lung disease. Household air pollution can also lead to pneumonia in children and low birth weight in infants.

The "meningitis belt" stretches across Africa from The Gambia through Ghana to Eritrea. Credit: CDC

Now researchers believe the smoke may be a contributing factor in bacterial meningitis outbreaks in countries such as Ghana, whose northern region is located in Africa’s “meningitis belt.” An estimated 300 million people live in the meningitis belt, which includes part or all of The Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Those exposed to indoor air pollution from cooking over open flames are nine times more likely to contract meningitis, studies show.

Meningitis, a potentially deadly disease, is an inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Most cases are caused by a viral infection, but bacterial and fungal infections are also culprits. Bacterial meningitis is the most dangerous form. Outbreaks usually happen in the dry, dusty season, and end with the onset of the seasonal rains. The dust and dryness may irritate sensitive human membranes, making victims vulnerable to infection. Cooking smoke may play a similar role, increasing susceptibility to meningitis.

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A Safer Stove For The Developing World, Created By Indian Student Entrepreneurs

January 7, 2013 · 1 comment

A Safer Stove For The Developing World, Created By Indian Student Entrepreneurs | Source: Climate Himalaya, Jan 4, 2013

Having an open fire in your house is dangerous, and it’s not good to inhale the smoke. But it’s how billions of people cook and heat their houses. The Greenway Smart Stove aims to change that–with no moving parts and at a price anyone can afford.

In developing nations around the world, almost three billion people endanger their health by using mud stoves and indoor open fires. It’s a phenomenon that causes millions of deaths each year, which is why a handful of intrepid designers and engineers have created alternative solutions in recent years.

Greenway Grameen Infra, an India-based startup begun by student entrepreneurs, has a product that has already caught on in its native country: the Greenway Smart Stove, an efficient single-burner cookstove that generates 80% less smoke than traditional cookstoves, and uses 65% less fuel. 

Greenway Grameen Infra just received the $50,000 grand prize in the annual Intel Global Challenge at UC Berkeley, a business plan competition for ideas that can make society better, for its ideas. Co-founder and CEO Neha Juneja tells us that she first started thinking about stove solutions after traveling through a rural Indian village. “We stopped by a household, a typical rural household. It had a TV, motorbikes, three mobile phones, and a traditional mud stove. It seemed like a wonderful opportunity. Rural does not mean poor and yet they didn’t have a good solid option,” she says.

Unlike the popular thermoelectric BioLite Stoves, the Greenway Smart Stove features an air-flow generator that provides clean combustion. “We would typically employ a fan, but [access to] power is a complication. The challenge was to not use any power and not use any moving parts but pump air into the stove,” explains Juneja. “Our stove performs better than an electric fan stove.” The stove can run on all sorts of biomass, including wood, cow dung, and agricultural waste.

It may perform better, but the $23 Smart Stove isn’t affordable for all Indian families. “A lot of people are willing to pay that price. But it’s not something the poorest of the poor can pay for,” admits Juneja. Nonetheless, Greenway has sold 12,000 units since the company piloted the stove in select Indian states last December. There is clearly a need and a market for the product, which is sold through local mom and pop stores (India has one shop for every 90 people, according to Juneja).

The Intel prize money will go to “getting the stove out in the market as soon as we can,” says Juneja. But the Greenway team isn’t stopping there: It’s now working on a second stove model–a thermoelectric one that will compete with the BioLite. With so many people still using dangerous traditional stoves, there’s a big enough market for everyone.

Use of Biomass Fuel in Households within Limpopo Province of South Africa and Its Association with Asthma

January 7, 2013 · 0 comments

Use of Biomass Fuel in Households within Limpopo Province of South Africa and Its Association with Asthma among School Children Aged Thirteen and Fourteen Years of Age. Public Health Research 2012; 2(1).

Kidi Rose Maluleke. Aalborg University Denmark, The South African Social Security Agency, Research and Development, PO Box 54684, Wierdapark 0149.

Biomass fuel is energy generated from burnt coal, wood, paraffin, dried animal dung and other agricultural waste. These substances when burnt produce toxic substances known to be detrimental to respiratory health. This cross sectional study determined the association of asthma and use of biomass fuel among 742 school children aged 13 and 14 years around Polokwane areas.

The prevalence of asthma among the exposed group was 33%. The odds ratio for the association was 1.50, p 0.01 CI 1.09; 2. 10. The association was tested under different conditions using regression techniques. In all instances the exposure variable was resilient in predicting asthma, and this way support theories of air pollution and respiratory diseases.

Findings of the study suggest complete electrification of areas in Limpopo Province to prevent use of alternative unclean energy sources in order to minimize or eliminate exposure to energy-related respiratory disease agents. For purposes of control, asthma should be made a priority disease and an asthma surveillance system be established in Limpopo Province.

India – Deaths from respiratory illnesses on rise

January 3, 2013 · 0 comments

Deaths from respiratory illnesses on rise: Report | Source: Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times, New Delhi, January 02, 2013

The bad quality of air, which leads to acute respiratory ailments, was the biggest cause of deaths due to diseases in 2011, a government study released on Tuesday said. The Statistical Handbook of India 2013 says 2,429 people died owing to respiratory diseases in 2011, much more than the deaths caused by water-borne diseases and Japanese encephalitis. However, deaths due to other diseases such as heart ailments and cancer have not been counted.

But, other international studies have also cited rising population as an increasing cause of deaths in India.

The global burden of disease (GBD) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) released in December says air pollution is the sixth most dangerous killer in south Asia. “Around 65% of the air pollution deaths occur in Asia and close to quarter of this happen in India,” the report says.

The government study had confirmed the findings, saying 2.63 crore people in India suffer from acute respiratory disease, the causes of which are indoor pollution and rising air pollution levels.

A study by Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) on the impact of indoor air pollution has estimated that 51,660-84,731 post-neonatal deaths occur in the country every year, which is 27.5% of the total such deaths.

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Key 2012 Household Air Pollution Studies, Manuals, etc.

December 31, 2012 · 0 comments

250+ reports and studies were posted on the WASHplus IAP Updates in 2012. Below are links to some of the studies that were posted:

DECEMBER 2012

NOVEMBER 2012

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Sustainable energy for all? Linking poor communities to modern energy services

December 27, 2012 · 0 comments

Sustainable energy for all? Linking poor communities to modern energy services, 2012.

Emma Wilson, et al. IIED.

This paper explores energy delivery models that provide sustainable and clean energy services to the poor. Four key building blocks are: the implementation process, including finance, resource sourcing, conversion and end use; support services (additional services such as training or micro-finance facilities); the enabling environment of policies, regulations and incentives; and the socio-cultural context including local norms and preferences, decision-making structures and levels of social cohesion.

We cover a range of products and services targeted at communities located in diverse socio-cultural and geographical contexts. We identify useful experience that can help to replicate or scale up successful models that link the poor to modern energy markets.

Household Air Pollution and CVD: Identifying Best Directions for Research

December 27, 2012 · 0 comments

Household Air Pollution and CVD: Identifying Best Directions for Research. Global Heart, Volume 7, Issue 3 , Pages 271-274, September 2012.

Michael Lauer, et al.

We face an increasing global burden of cardiovascular disease, principally due to a sharp rise in developing countries experiencing health transitions. Though it has long been known that hypertension, cigarette smoking, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes are important cardiovascular risk factors, it is now increasingly appreciated that environmental factors such as fine-particulate air pollution represent a serious public health threat. As noted by Rajagopolan and Brook in this issue, household air pollution from use of coal and biomass for cooking and space heating may well have a substantial, and potentially reversible, cardiovascular impact.

Rajagopolan and Brook call for a concerted research program to estimate the impact and to develop and test interventions. They correctly note that there is a need to balance the cost of research with the necessity of additional information. Further, they identify 5 focus areas, including exposure assessment, biological mechanisms, epidemiology, candidate interventions, and cost-effectiveness. They argue that multidisciplinary teams are best equipped to tackle this complex issue from both scientific and societal perspectives.

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