AAAR 32nd Annual Conference
September 30 - October 4, 2013
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Particulate Mass and Lung-Deposited Surface Area Concentrations from Cookstove Emissions in Rural Households in Udaipur, India
Anna Leavey, SAMEER PATEL, Jessica Londeree, Ravi Shrimali, Gautam Yadama, Pratim Biswas, Washington University in St Louis
Abstract Number: 707 Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract Approximately three billion people around the globe routinely cook and heat their homes by burning biomass in traditional cookstoves. Nearly 2 million people are estimated to die annually from acute respiratory infections and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease due to indoor air pollution from these cookstoves. Ninety-nine percent of deaths occur in developing countries, and women and children bear the brunt. One of the most affected countries is India, where cookstove-related poor indoor air quality results in 0.5 million excess deaths a year. Quantifying these emissions and understanding the factors that influence them may help improve the quality of life for billions of the most vulnerable people [1,2].
Gas and particulate measurements were collected for a total of 54 households throughout the months of June-August, 2012, in rural villages in and around Udaipur, India. Of the households sampled, 51 operated traditional cookstoves while 3 operated some type of improved cookstove. The fuel burned was mainly a mixture of biomass and dung. Mean concentrations observed whilst the cookstove was operating under steady-state conditions were 4989.6 (421.3 improved)(µ$^(m2)cm$^(-3)) for lung-deposited surface area, 9835.2 (1126.3 improved) (µgm$^(-3)) for PM$_(2.5), and 18.5 (3.9 improved) (ppm) for carbon monoxide. Certain fuel and household characteristics modified these concentrationsas well as the extinguishing efficiency, although associations were complex. These included the biomass-mix, roof type, the amount of fuel used and the diameter of the fuel, and different sources of ventilation. Some variables may also be indicative of socio-economic status and should be explored more fully.
It is hoped that this work will help to highlight the hazardous and often full-time work that women and children face every day just to provide their family with food; and offer suggestions as to how their working conditions may be improved.
References
1 Leavey, A. et al. AST,2013,47(9):966-978
2 Sahu, M. et al. EST,2011,45(6):2428-2434