Cooking as a source of indoor air pollution in rural areas of Tanzania

Abstract

This study was concerned with the assessment of the contribution of cooking fuelwood, charcoal and kerosene to indoor air pollution in households in Msangani, Chahua and Kazimzumbwi villages in the Coast Region, Tanzania. It has also assessed the performance of Single Compartment Model in predicting indoor pollution levels under Tanzania conditions. The methods used in this study were household survey, measurements, and observation. The pollutants measured were Carbon monoxide (CO), Sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) and Nitrogen oxides (NOX) using a combustion analyzer CA-6200-CALc manufacured by RAECO of USA, and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) using a filter and vacuum pump. It was observed that 97.3% of the 112 families surveyed utilized simple "three stones" fires for cooking. Other observed cooking facilities in the study areas were charcoal stoves and kerosene stoves. The overall pattern shows that the population in the three villages spent about 76.8% of their time indoors. The hourly indoor average SPM levels during cooking period ranged from 13571 µg/m3 to 305798 µg/m3. Compared with SPM levels recorded in similar studies, these values were much higher, and may contribute to health problems observed in the study areas. The CO concentrations before cooking, for households that use fuel wood, exceeded the WHO hourly standard of 30 mg/m3 in 69.4 % of the surveyed households, while the concentrations for those households using charcoal and kerosene were zero. The overall average CO concentrations in mg/m3 at all households during cooking were 325 ± 211 and 148 ± 44 when fuelwood and charcoal biomass were used respectively. The measured values of CO were above the recommended WHO guidelines with an hourly objective value of 30 mg/m3. A Single Compartment Model provided a satisfactory approximation of the measured CO concentrations with an average ratio of measured/modelled CO concentration at 1.1± 0.3. The study recommends improvement to the ventilation system including the provision of an adequate number of windows and installation of chimneys for removal of combustion pollutants from indoor environment.

Prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and associated factors among small-holder fish vendors along coastal areas in Tanzania

“…For this occupation, the number of men are higher than that of women as many men engage in fish frying. This is different from findings from other cross sectional studies conducted in different parts of the world which reported biomass smoke exposure to women and mothers who are more responsible in cooking practices at homes [ 33 – 35 ] while in the process of fish frying in Tanzania men are more exposed to air pollution from burning of firewood as an occupational exposure. Other studies have also reported high exposure of biomass smoke to women as they are responsible for cooking at home at their early age and hence cumulative exposure over time which lead to early manifestation of the disease [ 32 ].…”

“…Findings from this study indicate that biomass use is still common in occupational settings including fish frying working environment. Health risks associated with this have been documented in many studies [ 13 , 18 , 21 , 33 , 45 , 49 ] hence there is a need for immediate action to protect this workforce.…”

Prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and associated risk factors among small-holder fish vendors along coastal areas in Tanzania

“…For this occupational exposure, men are more exposed than women as women who fry sh are too few. This is different from ndings from a other cross sectional studies conducted in different parts of the world which reported exposure to women and mothers who are more responsible in cooking practices at homes [23][24][25] while in the process of sh frying in Tanzania men are more exposed to air pollution from burning of rewood as an occupational exposure. Other studies have also reported high exposure of biomass smoke to women as they are responsible for cooking at home at their early age and hence cumulative exposure over time which lead to early manifestation of the disease Almost all sh vendors reported having respiratory symptoms (cough, breathlessness, wheezing and sputum production) interfere with their daily activities in one way or another.…”

“…Findings from this study indicate that biomass use is still common in occupational settings including sh frying working environment. Health risks associated with this have been documented in many studies [9,12,14,23,35,37] hence there is a need for immediate action to protect this workforce.…”