Particulate Matter 2.5 Exposure and Self-Reported Use of Wood Stoves and Other Indoor Combustion Sources in Urban Nonsmoking Homes in Norway

Abstract

Few studies have examined particulate matter (PM) exposure from self-reported use of wood stoves and other indoor combustion sources in urban settings in developed countries. We measured concentrations of indoor PM < 2.5 microns (PM2.5) for one week with the MicroPEM™ nephelometer in 36 households in the greater Oslo, Norway metropolitan area. We examined indoor PM2.5 levels in relation to use of wood stoves and other combustion sources during a 7 day monitoring period using mixed effects linear models with adjustment for ambient PM2.5 levels. Mean hourly indoor PM2.5 concentrations were higher (p = 0.04) for the 14 homes with wood stove use (15.6 μg/m3) than for the 22 homes without (12.6 μg/m3). Moreover, mean hourly PM2.5 was higher (p = 0.001) for use of wood stoves made before 1997 (6 homes, 20.2 μg/m3), when wood stove emission limits were instituted in Norway, compared to newer wood stoves (8 homes, 11.9 μg/m3) which had mean hourly values similar to control homes. Increased PM2.5 levels during diary-reported burning of candles was detected independently of concomitant wood stove use. These results suggest that self-reported use of wood stoves, particularly older stoves, and other combustion sources, such as candles, are associated with indoor PM2.5 measurements in an urban population from a high income country.

Ambient air pollution per specific land use types and activities in an urbanizing Eastern Caribbean Country, St. Kitts and Nevis

“…That said, levels were significantly lower in areas where tourist activities take place, possibly as a result of transport between tourist sites being the major pollution. SN, an open-air recreational site undergoing renovations and known for cook stove use, was an exception with notably higher PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels, consistent with previous studies focused on the contributions of construction activities [16,79] and smoke [80][81][82] to particulate matter concentrations.…”

Exposure reductions associated with introduction of solar lamps to kerosene lamp-using households in Busia County, Kenya

“…Personal PM 2.5 exposures were measured with a Micro‐Personal Exposure Monitor, or MicroPEM (RTI, USA). The MicroPEM has been used to determine exposures of individuals of solid‐fuel‐using homes and in urban centers . It measures PM 2.5 concentrations in real‐time with a micro‐nephelometer, while a gravimetric sample is collected simultaneously on a 25 mm Teflon filter.…”

Comparison of next‐generation portable pollution monitors to measure exposure to PM 2.5 from household air pollution in Puno, Peru

“…However, past studies have sought to evaluate both laboratory and field performance of just one of these instruments or past versions of the instruments compared to commonly used gravimetric instruments. 18,25,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48] Although there are no evaluation studies to date that have been conducted on the current version of the ECM, except for a pilot study to compare the ECM to the MicroPEM, 40 in rural India. Correlation between the two instruments was also found to be strong in this preliminary field study (Pearson's r = 0.91, 95% CI 0.84-0.95).…”

“…In this study, we performed a co‐location comparison of the ECM and UPAS against a traditional gravimetric instrument commonly used in field studies. However, past studies have sought to evaluate both laboratory and field performance of just one of these instruments or past versions of the instruments compared to commonly used gravimetric instruments . Although there are no evaluation studies to date that have been conducted on the current version of the ECM, except for a pilot study to compare the ECM to the MicroPEM, several studies have been done with an older version of RTI’s MicroPEM.…”

“…Although there are no evaluation studies to date that have been conducted on the current version of the ECM, except for a pilot study to compare the ECM to the MicroPEM, several studies have been done with an older version of RTI’s MicroPEM. There are several field studies that have used the MicroPEM to assess associations of PM 10 to mold exposure in asthmatic children in Denver, CO, assess whether ambient sampling instruments approximate personal exposures and compare outdoor PM to indoor PM exposures in children living in Utah, and measure emissions from wood stoves in Norway . However, there are only a few studies that have evaluated the MicroPEM’s performance against traditional gravimetric field instruments.…”