Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) Measurement

Combustion of wood

• Wood consist mainly of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (CH2O)x
• Results of complete combustion: CO2, H2O and heat

BUT: 'Cooking stove never achieve 100% complete combustion'

There are more combustion products in incomplete combustion like:

• CO, NO2, Small particles
• Formaldehyde, Acrolein, Benzene, Toluene, Styrene, 1,3-Butadiene etc.
• Polyaromatic hydrocarbons
• CO and Particular matter (PM) have the biggest health impacts

Examples:

1. CO – low concentration: Mild headache, fatigue, nausea, dizziness
2. CO – high concentration: Death within one hour
3. PM: strong effects to respiratory system

Annualy X.X mio people die due to being exposed to incomplete combustion every day

IAP and improve stoves

• Rule of thumb:
  

       “stoves with less fuel consumption emit less pollutants”

       “chimneys reduce IAP signicant”

• EnDev relevant stove ( reduced wood consumption) should have reduced emissions, too
• Evidence of the improvement through CO and PM measurement:    

       --> Improvement against Baseline

IAP – Measurement Devices

So far:

• seperated devices for PM and CO measurement
• Data analysis difficult

Now:

• One device for PM and CO measurement
• Data analysis simple using MS Excel
• But interpretation needs to be done

Procedure in the field:

• Mount devices
• Switch on, close lid
• Perform test, take notes in parallel
• Open lid, switch off
• In parallel: fill protocol manual

Data analysis

• read data from SD card and press “Process data” button in MS Excel

See, analyse and interpret results

• Careful as calibration of device might be expired

Aprovecho IAP meter

• Demonstration
• 1st tests
• results

IAP measurement

• Understand results
• Check for negative values
• Be critical, don’t trust what you read without crosschecking

IAP measurement - overview on results from projects

Back to "tests and measuring" section

Evaluation of Changes in Cooking Practices in the Area of Lliipapuquio, Andahuaylas, Peru

 

The objective of the study was to determine the health effects of chronic exposure to smoke produced by burning of biomass in traditional stoves and the benefits of the improved Inkawasi stove, a built-in brick stove equipped with a chimney. It can be built with two different combustion chambers for different geographical regions and uses the principle of sunken pots to minimise emissions. The study was performed by the University of Peru at Cayetano Heredia. It was conducted in villages of the vicinity of the town of San Jeronimo in central Peru. In this area wood is the main fuel used by households for cooking purposes. In the past older (non-smoking) women frequently showed sings of chronic damages of the bronchi (cough, respiratory infections etc.).

A total of 64 families comprising 334 people were divided into two groups. One group used the Inkawasi stove, whereas the other group used the traditional stove. There was no difference between the groups regarding age, sex, and time spent in the kitchen. However, there was a different in smoking with higher incident in the traditional stove group (1.9 vs. 3.7 %). Differences in health status were determined using a questionnaire and by measurement of blood parameters (haematocrit, haemoglobin levels) and by determination of lung function (vital capacity). Changes in wood consumption assessed by interviews to assure that the Inkawasi stoves were properly used.

Women using the Inkawasi stove stated that it reduced consumption of wood and there was less smoke in the kitchen. This corroborates well with preliminary results obtained from lab tests, which show a reduction of average PM and CO by 75 and 81 % respectively. However comparable data from the project areas are not available yet. Baseline measurements performed in traditional kitchens showed an extreme variation of both PM and CO by the factor of 114 and 244. This suggests that e. g. kitchen management could also be a very important factor.

Regarding their status health the women reported less arousal at night due to coughing as well as less expectoration. In addition, olfaction was improved. Laboratory measurements showed increased haematocrit and haemoglobin content of the blood compared to women using traditional stoves which the author relates to improved food preparation using the improved stove. All differences were statistically significant and the effects were directly related to exposure time and pollutant concentration. In contrast, lung capacity did not differ between the groups although there was a tendency for having higher capacities in the Inkawasi-group. No correlation existed between health problems and poverty level indicting that the respiratory problems are not due to other factor linked to poverty but that they are caused by the use of the traditional stove.

The study shows that use of energy-efficient Inkawasi stoves also significantly improves women’s health besides fuel saving. Its approach using a combination of questionnaires as well as medical measurements may serve as al model for future studies. However, the effects of energy-efficient stoves on chronic diseases caused by IAP such as chronic obstructive lung disease remain to be assessed.

 

 

Further reading

Evaluacion de Cambio de Cocinas en el Centro Poblado de Lliupapuquio, Andahuaylas

 Change of Kitchens Evaluation in the Populated Center of  Lliupapuquio, Andahuaylas (english version of the above study, contains additional data!)

Mediciones Intradomiciliarios de Material Particulado Respirable (PM) y Monóxido de Carbono (CO) en la localidad de Lliupapuquio – Andahuaylas, (Informe technico)

 

Results of Testing And Existing Stove Design Recommendations -- Peru