Emerging Indoor Air Quality Issues In Developing Countries

indoor air quality
In terms of aggregate health effects, household solid fuel use is currently the most important source of indoor air pollution in developing countries. Although relatively equitable economic and rural development has contributed to reducing the use of solid fuels in some settings (e.g., in some newly industrialized Asian countries), indoor air pollution is likely to remain an important health risk in poorer developing countries in the absence of successful intervention programs. More broadly, indoor air quality issues in developing countries are dynamic phenomena that require dynamic research and policy responses. (more…)

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Health Effects Of Exposure To Indoor Smoke

indoors smoke
Exposure to indoor air pollution from the combustion of solid fuels has been implicated, with varying degrees of evidence, as a causal agent of several diseases in developing countries. In a review of the epidemiological evidence for the health effects of indoor smoke from solid fuels, Bruce et al. concluded that, despite some methodological limitations, epidemiological studies provide compelling evidence of causality for acute respiratory infections (ARI) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is reinforced by experimental data, studies of pathogenesis, and indirect evidence from environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and ambient air pollution studies. (more…)

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Reducing Indoor Air Pollution in Developing Countries

indoor air pollution
Important research over the past few decades has illustrated that indoor air pollution and indoor smoke from solid fuel poses important health risks in developing countries. Unfortunately, affordable and effective interventions for reducing these risks are limited. This may be because in designing new interventions, the complexities of household energy use and exposure have been often overlooked, and there is a lack of infrastructure to support technological innovations, marketing and dissemination, and maintenance. Even less is known about combinations of technologies that may be used in a household and the factors that motivate the households to adopt them. (more…)

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Health Benefits Of Household Energy Transitions

household energy consumption
Reducing exposure to indoor air pollution from household energy use can be achieved through interventions in of the following areas:

* Emissions source and energy technology (fuel– stove combination).
* Housing design and ventilation.
* Behavior and time–activity budget. (more…)

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Household Fuel Use Patterns In Developing Countries

Indoor air quality (IAQ) research deals with the presence, levels, health effects, and control of physical, chemical, and biological factors in indoor environments, including homes, workplaces, and vehicles. IAQ research in industrialized countries has examined hundreds of specific factors (e.g., temperature, various chemicals, and mold), sources of pollution environment (e.g., environmental tobacco smoke, occupational factors, consumer cleaning products, and moisture), and control technologies (e.g., ventilation). (more…)

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Solid Fuel Smoke And Indoor Air Pollution

Smoke from biomass and coal combustion contains a large number of pollutants with known health hazards, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur oxides (mainly from coal), formaldehyde, and polycyclic organic compounds (e.g., carcinogens such as benzo[a]pyrene). The concentrations of each of these pollutants vary among the different forms of solid fuels, with animal dung and crop residues having some of the highest level emissions to environment of particulate matter, one of the important indicator pollutants for health effects. (more…)

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