Dataset Information

Household concentrations and exposure of children to particulate matter from biomass fuels in The Gambia.

ABSTRACT: Particulate matter (PM) is an important metric for studying the health effects of household air pollution. There are limited data on PM exposure for children in homes that use biomass fuels, and no previous study has used direct measurement of personal exposure in children younger than 5 years of age. We estimated PM(2.5) exposure for 1266 children in The Gambia by applying the cookhouse PM(2.5)-CO relationship to the child's CO exposure. Using this indirect method, mean PM(2.5) exposure for all subjects was 135 ± 38 ?g/m(3); 25% of children had exposures of 151 ?g/m(3) or higher. Indirectly estimated exposure was highest among children who lived in homes that used firewood (collected or purchased) as their main fuel (144 ?g/m(3)) compared to those who used charcoal (85 ?g/m(3)). To validate the indirect method, we also directly measured PM(2.5) exposure on 31 children. Mean exposure for this validation data set was 65 ± 41 ?g/m(3) using actual measurement and 125 ± 54 ?g/m(3) using the indirect method based on simultaneously-measured CO exposure. The correlation coefficient between direct measurements and indirect estimates was 0.01. Children in The Gambia have relatively high PM(2.5) exposure. There is a need for simple methods that can directly measure PM(2.5) exposure in field studies.

SUBMITTER: Dionisio KL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3309066 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Household concentrations and exposure of children to particulate matter from biomass fuels in The Gambia.

Dionisio Kathie L KL Howie Stephen R C SR Dominici Francesca F Fornace Kimberly M KM Spengler John D JD Adegbola Richard A RA Ezzati Majid M

Environmental science & technology 20120229 6

Particulate matter (PM) is an important metric for studying the health effects of household air pollution. There are limited data on PM exposure for children in homes that use biomass fuels, and no previous study has used direct measurement of personal exposure in children younger than 5 years of age. We estimated PM(2.5) exposure for 1266 children in The Gambia by applying the cookhouse PM(2.5)-CO relationship to the child's CO exposure. Using this indirect method, mean PM(2.5) exposure for all ...[more]

PMID: 22304223

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Project description:Household air pollution from the burning of biomass fuels is recognized as the third greatest contributor to the global burden of disease. Incomplete combustion of biomass fuels releases a complex mixture of carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM) and other toxins into the household environment. Some investigators have used indoor CO concentrations as a reliable surrogate of indoor PM concentrations; however, the assumption that indoor CO concentration is a reasonable proxy of indoor PM concentration has been a subject of controversy. We sought to describe the relationship between indoor PM2.5 and CO concentrations in 128 households across three resource-poor settings in Peru, Nepal, and Kenya. We simultaneously collected minute-to-minute PM2.5 and CO concentrations within a meter of the open-fire stove for approximately 24h using the EasyLog-USB-CO data logger (Lascar Electronics, Erie, PA) and the personal DataRAM-1000AN (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, MA), respectively. We also collected information regarding household construction characteristics, and cooking practices of the primary cook. Average 24h indoor PM2.5 and CO concentrations ranged between 615 and 1440 ?g/m(3), and between 9.1 and 35.1 ppm, respectively. Minute-to-minute indoor PM2.5 concentrations were in a safe range (<25 ?g/m(3)) between 17% and 65% of the time, and exceeded 1000 ?g/m(3) between 8% and 21% of the time, whereas indoor CO concentrations were in a safe range (<7 ppm) between 46% and 79% of the time and exceeded 50 ppm between 4%, and 20% of the time. Overall correlations between indoor PM2.5 and CO concentrations were low to moderate (Spearman ? between 0.59 and 0.83). There was also poor agreement and evidence of proportional bias between observed indoor PM2.5 concentrations vs. those estimated based on indoor CO concentrations, with greater discordance at lower concentrations. Our analysis does not support the notion that indoor CO concentration is a surrogate marker for indoor PM2.5 concentration across all settings. Both are important markers of household air pollution with different health and environmental implications and should therefore be independently measured.

Project description: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.

Dataset Information

Household concentrations and exposure of children to particulate matter from biomass fuels in The Gambia.

Publications

Household concentrations and exposure of children to particulate matter from biomass fuels in The Gambia.

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