AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
How Fuel and Household Characteristics May Explain Variability in Biomass-burning Cookstove Emissions in Rural Rajasthan, India
ANNA LEAVEY, Jessica Londeree, Ravi Shrimali, Gautam Yadama, Pratim Biswas, Washington University in St Louis
Abstract Number: 304 Working Group: Biomass Burning Aerosol: From Emissions to Impacts
Abstract Approximately two million tons of biomass are burned daily around the globe, in traditional three-stone cookstoves and open fires, enabling almost 3 billion people to warm and feed themselves. Recent estimates by the World Health Organization and other leading experts put the 2010 mortality rate from household air pollution from solid fuel combustion at around 3.5 million, nearly doubling previous estimates$^1. Ninety-nine percent of these deaths occur in developing countries, especially among women and children. One of the most affected countries is India, where almost 85% of rural households depend on firewood, crop residue and cowdung cakes$^2. Quantifying the emissions from these cookstoves, and understanding the factors that influence their variability, may help to identify and improve the lives of millions of the world’s most vulnerable people.
Gas and particulate measurements were collected between June-August, 2012, for 51 households using traditional cookstoves, in rural villages in and around Udaipur, India. A questionnaire was also administered during each visit, to obtain data on fuel and household characteristics, and cooking practices, and simple and multivariate regression analysis was conducted. Many of the predictor variables demonstrated complex associations. For lung-deposited surface area (µm$^2cm$^(-3)) the strongest predictors were fuel diameter (R$^2 = 0.14) and fuel amount (R$^2 = 0.13). For PM$_(2.5) (µgm$^(-3)), the presence of other ventilation and the type of kindling used explained 18% and 17% of the variability, respectively. Carbon monoxide (ppm) emissions were more difficult to explain using the collected variables, but other ventilation, roof type and the presence of smoking were all statistically significant (p < 0.05). Some of these variables may be indicative of socio-economic status and could be used as a proxy of exposure. These associations should be further explored.