from the WASHplus Project

Atmos. Chem. Phys., Jan 2012

Link between local scale BC emissions in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and large scale atmospheric solar absorption

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P. S. Praveen, et al

Project Surya has documented indoor and outdoor concentrations of black carbon (BC) from traditional biomass burning cook stoves in a rural village located in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) region of N. India from November 2009–September 2010. In this paper, we systematically document the link between local scale aerosol properties and column averaged regional aerosol optical properties and atmospheric radiative forcing. The atmospheric forcing due to BC and OC exceeded 20 Wm−2 during all months from November to May, supporting the deduction that elimination of cook stove smoke emissions through clean cooking technologies will likely have a major positive impact not only on human health but also on regional climate.

Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 12: 49–60, 2012

Impact of Different Household Fuel Use on Source Apportionment Results of House-Indoor RPM in Central India

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Shamsh Pervez – et al.

Conventional character of household fuel use in India showed significant impact on residential-indoor air quality and consequently deteriorating personal air quality of inhabitants. Multi-complexity in location and type of industrial units along with haphazard traffic system are some of the major challenges in resolving relative source contribution with higher significance, especially in case of indoor and personal level air quality. On the basis of questionnaire survey that include daily activity pattern with use of household cooking fuel by local residents, three fuel categories identified: 1) Use of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) stove, 2) Use of kerosene stoves and electric stoves and 3) Conventional stoves using coke and cow dung cakes.

In many of middle class residents, kitchen cooking is depending on all three categorized fuels. A longitudinal measurements of respirable particulate matter (RPM) in residential-indoors, ambient-outdoors of selected source sites and local-outdoor of road-traffic junctions have been monitored during October–December 2009. Sampling frequency was ten (twice in a week). Chemical Mass Balance (CMB8) was executed using source-routes and indoor-receptor compositional profiles. Results have shown significant variation in relative contributions of outdoor sources with potential impact of household fuel emission on source contributions of indoor RPM. Results also explained extent of contribution from road traffic emissions, local soils and major industrial complex to indoor RPM levels.

RELEVANCE: The study is the part of comprehensive assessment of source apportionment of particulate matter at ambient, indoor, personal and surface levels in urban-industrial environment of central India using. 21 chemical species have been analyzed using standard reported protocol of ICP-AES and ion-chromatograph. Source apportionment has been conducted using two methods: Preliminary- linear regression, then using CMB8.

International Journal of Collaborative Research on Internal Medicine & Public Health, Vol. 4 No. 1 (January 2012)

Does domestic cooking environment influence risk of respiratory morbidities in rural Indian women?

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Neelam D Sukhsohale, Uday W Narlawar, Mrunal S Phatak, Suresh N Ughade

Background and objectives: Whether continued use of biomass fuels along with other fuels in presence of poor domestic cooking conditions is as detrimental to respiratory health as the exclusive use of biomass fuels is unknown. The present study is an attempt to assess the risks associated with indoor air pollution in the context of adverse domestic cooking environmental conditions in rural women of central India.

Methods: We conducted a community based, cross sectional study in 760 non-smoking, rural women of central India – 265 used non biomass fuels (Group A), 243 biomass and other fuels (Group B) while 252 exclusively biomass fuels (Group C). Exposure to domestic smoke was estimated according to the average time per day spent near the fireplace (exposure index). Abnormal pulmonary function of the study subjects was assessed by the measurement of peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) according to standards recommended by American thoracic society. PEFR less than 80% of the predicted was considered as abnormal pulmonary function.

Background and objectives: Whether continued use of biomass fuels along with other fuels in presence of poor domestic cooking conditions is as detrimental to respiratory health as the exclusive use of biomass fuels is unknown. The present study is an attempt to assess the risks associated with indoor air pollution in the context of adverse domestic cooking environmental conditions in rural women of central India.

Results: Robust multivariate analyses which adjusted for height, illiteracy, physical activity, environmental exposure to tobacco smoke (ETS), mud house, overcrowding, inadequate ventilation and respiratory morbidity revealed that illiteracy (OR 2.48, 95 % CI 1.04 5.87); physical activity (OR 3.93, 95 % CI 1.52 10.14); inadequate cross ventilation (OR 2.43, 95 % CI 1.23-4.77) and respiratory morbidity (OR 2.65, 95 % CI 1.38-5.08) were significant predictors of low PEFR for group C (P<0.05); whereas none of the predictors were found to be significantly associated with group B.

Conclusions: Since women using partial biomass fuels showed no association of low PEFR with domestic cooking environment and respiratory morbidity even after robustly adjusting for confounding variables, we can conclude that even partial abolition of biomass use may be beneficial in improving the lung function of rural, non smoking women in spite of having inadequate domestic cooking environment.