Patterns of Household Concentrations of Multiple Indoor Air Pollutants in China

Abstract

Most previous studies on indoor air pollution from household use of solid fuels have used either indirect proxies for human exposure or measurements of individual pollutants at a single point, as indicators of (exposure to) the mixture of pollutants in solid fuel smoke. A heterogeneous relationship among pollutant-location pairs should be expected because specific fuel-stove technology and combustion and dispersion conditions such as temperature, moisture, and air flow are likely to affect the emissions and dispersion of the various pollutants differently. We report on a study for monitoring multiple pollutants--including respirable particles (RPM), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, fluoride, and arsenic--at four points inside homes that used coal and/or biomass fuels in Guizhou and Shaanxi provinces of China. All pollutants exhibited large variability in emissions and spatial dispersion within and between provinces and were generally poorly correlated. RPM, followed by SO2, was generally higher than common health-based guidelines/standards and provided sufficient resolution for assessing variations within and between households in both provinces. Indoor heating played an important role in the level and spatial patterns of pollution inside homes, possibly to an extent more important than cooking. The findings indicate the need for monitoring of RPM and selected other pollutants in longer-term health studies, with focus on both cooking and living/sleeping areas.

Levels of PM 2.5 /PM 10 and associated metal(loid)s in rural households of Henan Province, China

“…In winter, the highest PM 2.5 (368.5 μg m −3 ) and PM 10 (588.7 μg m −3 ) were recorded in sitting rooms. This indicated that heating practice is a prominent determinant of indoor air quality in rural Henan, similar to other studies conducted in other rural areas (Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Guzhou) of China (Fischer and Koshland, 2007;He et al, 2005;Jin et al, 2005). In Baofeng, the outdoor PM 10 concentrations in winter were not as low as expected and even higher than in kitchens and sitting rooms, which might be due to the coal mine activities close to the village.…”

Geographical, Spatial, and Temporal Distributions of Multiple Indoor Air Pollutants in Four Chinese Provinces

“…i All numbers given as a proportion (percent) of all stoves of the specified type. (17) in four homes in a single village. This difference is partly because the pilot measurements were intended for selecting appropriate sampling points and pollutants for the larger study, rather than being from a representative sample households.…”

Cancer risk assessment of human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) via indoor and outdoor dust based on probit model

“…There are many emitting sources for PAHs in indoor environment including the smoking, cooking, and domestic fuel combustion (He et al 2005;Riechelmann et al 2007). PAHs in outdoor environment can be derived from the vehicle emission, power generation by coal combustion, petroleum refining, and waste burning (Peng et al 2011).…”