Indoor Air Quality and ventilation assessment of rural mountainous households of Nepal

Parajuli, Indira; Lee, Heekwan; Shrestha, Kanti

doi:10.1016/j.ijsbe.2016.08.003

Cited by 60 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Studies reveal that IAP is observed as one of the major causes of increasing health issues associated with poor ventilation. As per a study conducted in few remote villages of Palpa district located in the western part of Nepal, the percentage deficit in ventilation is 80% as compared to the minimal rate suggested by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers [11]. Another study report that poorly ventilation kitchens in Nepal have 100 times higher concentration of total suspended particles in comparison to the standard prescribed limit and it is due to excessive smoke generation in the premises [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Another study report that poorly ventilation kitchens in Nepal have 100 times higher concentration of total suspended particles in comparison to the standard prescribed limit and it is due to excessive smoke generation in the premises [12]. Parajuli et al [11] also monitored the impact of traditional cooking systems and improved cooking systems in the village houses. The estimated reduction of CO concentration and PM 2.5 concentration was 30 and 39% respectively, with the use of improved cooking systems as compared to traditional cooking systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A comprehensive review on indoor air quality monitoring systems for enhanced public health

Saini

Dutta

Marques

2020

Sustain Environ Res

211

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Indoor air pollution (IAP) is a relevant area of concern for most developing countries as it has a direct impact on mortality and morbidity. Around 3 billion people throughout the world use coal and biomass (crop residues, wood, dung, and charcoal) as the primary source of domestic energy. Moreover, humans spend 80-90% of their routine time indoors, so indoor air quality (IAQ) leaves a direct impact on overall health and work efficiency. In this paper, the authors described the relationship between IAP exposure and associated risks. The main idea is to discuss the use of wireless technologies for the development of cyber-physical systems for real-time monitoring. Furthermore, it provides a critical review of microcontrollers used for system designing and challenges in the development of real-time monitoring systems. This paper also presents some new ideas and scopes in the field of IAQ monitoring for the researchers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comprehensive review on indoor air quality monitoring systems for enhanced public health

Saini

Dutta

Marques

2020

Sustain Environ Res

211

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Most employed tools used in survey to collect data are questionnaires and interviews [12]. In air pollution study's authors, Kapwata et al [3], Parajuli et al [6] and Rumchev et al [13] use survey to obtain information about cooking patterns, exposure to potential risk factors, smoking history, occupation and exposure to biomass fuels used in the home for cooking, heating and lighting, details of the house construction, demographic data and an assessment of socioeconomic status. Survey may be structured or semi-structured with open-ended or closed-ended questions, followed by response options.…”

Section: Survey As Environmental Health Risk Assessment Toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have been numerous studies that have used different approaches to assess indoor and outdoor induced environmental health risks, including domestic firewood induced air pollution, for example Kapwata et al [3], Olave et al [4], Mitchell et al [5], Parajuli et al [6], Jung et al [7] and Joon et al [8], to name a few. It is evident from that these studies inferred on air pollution induced health risk from a one sided and narrow methodological base.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Environmental Health Risk Assessment Framework for Firewood-Induced Indoor Air Pollution

Semenya

Machete

2019

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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This paper presents an integrated environmental health risk assessment framework to assess risks associated with firewood-induced indoor air pollution as an environmental health hazard. The combustion of firewood is associated with the emission of particulate matter, volatile organic and inorganic compounds or gases that are hazardous to human health and the environment. To date, there have been numerous studies and environmental health risk assessment approaches used to measure, monitor and assess environmental health risks associated with firewood-induced and related pollutants. However, many of the aforementioned risk assessment methods followed a narrow approach, thus rendering these studies methodologically one-sided. Consequently, some of these studies drew inferences about the air pollutants and the associated human health risks without identifying the tree species from which such firewood was harvested, as well as the different properties of wood and combustion characteristics including the dynamics of the fireplace where such combustion took place. Some of these studies failed to identify a specific community where particular firewood is used, since different firewood species grow in different areas and are therefore commonly used in communities where the wood is easily found. Most experimental studies on firewood-induced air pollution examined firewood emissions from undefined or unknown wood species. It is for these reasons that the current study aimed to close these methodological gaps by developing a comprehensive integrated environmental health risk assessment framework that considers the firewood user households, common types of wood and conditions of their harvesting, combustion and emissions in the laboratory environment. This study integrated observations, ethnobotanical meta-analysis and experimental study designs into one comprehensive integrated environmental health risk assessment (IEHRA) framework to assess the risks associated with exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from firewood combustion. The IEHRA was applied in the Senwabarwana villages to assess environmental health risks associated with selected firewood-induced volatile organic compounds. The results were sufficiently comprehensive to identify common ethnobotanical plant species used for firewood in the study area, the frequency of fire making, the conditions in which fire was made and common health problems experienced by firewood user households. Finally, different species of firewood were burnt in a laboratory under simulated kitchen conditions and VOCs were collected for analysis. The results of the VOCs samples differentiated high-and low-risk firewood species.

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“…Harmful compounds emitted from decoration materials and new furniture tended to accumulate and cause potential adverse health effects (Hesaraki et al, 2015;McGill et al, 2015;Parajuli et al, 2016;Zorpas and Skouroupatis, 2016). Brown S K. (2002) reported that the presence of attached garages, site contamination and wool carpet contributed to the deterioration of IAQ.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indoor Air Pollution Levels in Decorated Residences and Public Places over Xi’an, China

Tian

Ren

Shen

et al. 2017

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

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To investigate the indoor air quality (IAQ) over Xi'an, the concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs, including formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, o-xylene, p-xylene, n-butyl acetate, ethylbenzene, styrene, n-undecane, and total VOCs) in 471 residential rooms and 58 public rooms during 2014-2015 were determined. All the data were measured at a variety of 6-48 months after the decorations of these rooms. The results showed that formaldehyde was the most serious pollutant in almost all the monitored rooms. The concentrations of formaldehyde in residences and public places ranged from 0. ). However, the TVOC concentrations in most sites were lower than the Chinese National Standard (GB/T 18883-2002) value. In residences, the formaldehyde and TVOC concentrations in bedrooms were slightly higher than those in living rooms and other rooms. The relationships among formaldehyde and TVOC concentrations with indoor temperature, relative humidity (RH), and decorative materials (curtain, wall decoration, wood floor, and panel furniture) were also investigated. Formaldehyde levels showed strong positive correlation with indoor temperature and RH. However, the TVOC levels had a relatively weak correlation with indoor air temperature and RH. The wall decoration and panel furniture were the main sources of indoor formaldehyde, while wood floor and panel furniture were the main sources of TVOC. In addition, indoor air pollution of three selected newly decorated houses with 11 rooms was monitored monthly for one year to evaluate the relationship between indoor pollution levels and ventilation time. It was found that the concentrations of formaldehyde and TVOC decreased with ventilation time, and the duration was one year after decoration especially after summer ventilation.

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Indoor Air Quality and ventilation assessment of rural mountainous households of Nepal

Cited by 60 publications

References 17 publications

A comprehensive review on indoor air quality monitoring systems for enhanced public health

A comprehensive review on indoor air quality monitoring systems for enhanced public health

Integrated Environmental Health Risk Assessment Framework for Firewood-Induced Indoor Air Pollution

Indoor Air Pollution Levels in Decorated Residences and Public Places over Xi’an, China

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