Indoor Respirable Particulate Matter Concentrations from an Open Fire, Improved Cookstove, and LPG/Open Fire Combination in a Rural Guatemalan Community

Abstract

Improved biomass cookstoves have the potential to reduce pollutant emissions and thereby reduce pollution exposure among populations in developing countries who cook daily with biomass fuels. However, evaluation of such interventions has been very limited. This article presents results from a study carried out in 30 households in rural Guatemala. Twenty-four hour PM3.5 concentrations were compared over 8 months for three fuel/cookstove conditions (n = 10 households for each condition): a traditional open fire cookstove, an improved cookstove called the plancha mejorada, and a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove/open fire combination. Twenty-four hour geometric mean PM3.5 concentrations were 1560 micrograms/m3 (n = 58; 95% C.I. 1310, 1850), 280 micrograms/m3 (n = 59; 95% C.I. 240-320), and 850 micrograms/m3 (n = 60; 95% C.I. 680-1050) for the open fire, plancha, and LPG/open fire combination, respectively. A generalized estimating equation model showed a 45% reduction in PM3.5 concentrations for the LPG/open fire combination as compared to the open fire alone. The difference approached significance (p < 0.0737). The plancha showed an 85% reduction in PM3.5 concentrations as compared to the open fire (p < 0.0001). An analysis of the interaction of time with stove type showed that the temporal trend in pollution did not significantly differ among the three stove types. The reduced PM3.5 concentrations were maintained over time. Season did not affect pollutant concentrations. Of the two interventions, the plancha appears to offer the best prospects for achieving substantial reductions in indoor air pollution levels, although issues of cost and stove maintenance remain to be addressed.

Childhood asthma and indoor woodsmoke from cooking in Guatemala

“…According to anthropological information, the mothers might use tobacco occasionally as a medicine against certain health problems. Our baseline data from the study villages found that less than 2% of the women admitted to ever having smoked, and the fathers who did smoke did not do so at home (Albalak et al, 2001). A survey in a neighboring Mam-speaking area (Grajeda et al, 1994) did not identify a single mother who admitted to be a smoker.…”

“…The majority of the families in the area are subsistence farmers, earning some cash supplement from selling their agricultural products at the local markets. Infant mortality rates are estimated to be approximately 55/1000 live births, and ARI are the leading cause of death (Albalak et al, 2001). Typical homes are made of simple adobe walls (bricks made of dried dirt), dirt floors and tile or metal roofs.…”

“…The plancha uses wood and sometimes crop residues for fuel, but also has a flue made of metal or cement pipe sections, which allows for removal of most of the smoke from the kitchen. A few households invested their own funds in small gas stoves that are used together with the traditional open fires, producing an intermediate range of smoke pollution (Albalak et al, 2001). The rest of the households in this study relied entirely on the traditional ''open fires'', that is nothing more than an uncovered fire on the floor in the kitchen.…”

“…The Mam use three stones of equal size in the fire to place their pots and pans. Women accustomed to cooking on open fires managed to quickly adapt their cooking skills to the plancha (Albalak et al, 2001). …”

“…The level of maternal education was also similar, with approximately 90% with none and the rest 1-3 years. Despite some differences in the kitchen volume between the groups that might influence exposure (Albalak et al, 2001), the study households included seemed well suited for an unbiased evaluation of health effects from indoor air pollution.…”