Comparison of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Cookstoves and Wood Cooking Fires on PM 2.5 Trends in Brick Workers’ Homes in Nepal

James D. Johnston, Megan E. Hawks, Haley B. Johnston, Laurel A. Johnson and John D. Beard
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James D. Johnston: Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Megan E. Hawks: Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Haley B. Johnston: Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Laurel A. Johnson: Marriott School of Business, Marketing & Global Supply Chain, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
John D. Beard: Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 16, 1-16

Abstract: Prior studies document a high prevalence of respiratory symptoms among brick workers in Nepal, which may be partially caused by non-occupational exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) from cooking. In this study, we compared PM 2.5 levels and 24 h trends in brick workers’ homes that used wood or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cooking fuel. PM 2.5 filter-based and real-time nephelometer data were collected for approximately 24 h in homes and outdoors. PM 2.5 was significantly associated with fuel type and location ( p < 0.0001). Pairwise comparisons found significant differences between gas, indoor (geometric mean (GM): 79.32 μg/m 3 ), and wood, indoor (GM: 541.14 μg/m 3 ; p = 0.0002), and between wood, indoor, and outdoor (GM: 48.38 μg/m 3 ; p = 0.0006) but not between gas, indoor, and outdoor ( p = 0.56). For wood fuel homes, exposure peaks coincided with mealtimes. For LPG fuel homes, indoor levels may be explained by infiltration of ambient air pollution. In both wood and LPG fuel homes, PM 2.5 levels exceeded the 24 h limit (25.0 µg/m 3 ) proposed by the World Health Organization. Our findings suggest that increasing the adoption of LPG cookstoves and decreasing ambient air pollution in the Kathmandu valley will significantly lower daily PM 2.5 exposures of brick workers and their families.

Keywords: household air pollution; fine particulate matter; brick workers; indoor environmental quality; international environmental health; cookstove (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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