Ultrafine particles and nitrogen oxides generated by gas and electric cooking

Abstract

Objectives-To measure the concentrations of particles less than 100 nm diameter and of oxides of nitrogen generated by cooking with gas and electricity, to comment on possible hazards to health in poorly ventilated kitchens. Methods-Experiments with gas and electric rings, grills, and ovens were used to compare diVerent cooking procedures. Nitrogen oxides (NO x ) were measured by a chemiluminescent ML9841A NO x analyser. A TSI 3934 scanning mobility particle sizer was used to measure average number concentration and size distribution of aerosols in the size range 10-500 nm.Results-High concentrations of particles are generated by gas combustion, by frying, and by cooking of fatty foods. Electric rings and grills may also generate particles from their surfaces. In experiments where gas burning was the most important source of particles, most particles were in the size range 15-40 nm. When bacon was fried on the gas or electric rings the particles were of larger diameter, in the size range 50-100 nm. The smaller particles generated during experiments grew in size with time because of coagulation. Substantial concentrations of NO X were generated during cooking on gas; four rings for 15 minutes produced 5 minute peaks of about 1000 ppb nitrogen dioxide and about 2000 ppb nitric oxide. Conclusions-Cooking in a poorly ventilated kitchen may give rise to potentially toxic concentrations of numbers of particles. Very high concentrations of oxides of nitrogen may also be generated by gas cooking, and with no extraction and poor ventilation, may reach concentrations at which adverse health eVects may be expected. Although respiratory eVects of exposure to NO x might be anticipated, recent epidemiology suggests that cardiac eVects cannot be excluded, and further investigation of this is desirable. (Occup Environ Med 2001;58:511-516)

Indoor ultrafine particle exposures and home heating systems: A cross-sectional survey of Canadian homes during the winter months

“…Furthermore, it should be stated that the Dust Trak employed in this investigation does not provide ideal measures of particulate matter exposures, and may overestimate exposures determined by reference gravimetric methods (Jenkins et al, 2004). The identification of electric oven use and cigarette smoking as significant predictors of mean indoor UFP exposures in this study is consistent with previous studies which have shown these to be strong sources of indoor UFPs (Dennekamp et al, 2001;Afshari et al, 2005). Likewise, the observed pattern of increased indoor UFPs during the evening relative to overnight hours has also been reported previously (Abt et al, 2000;, and supports the role of cooking as an important source of indoor UFPs.…”

“…Indoor sources of UFPs have been investigated in a number of studies, and include cooking systems, portable heaters, burning candles, tobacco smoke, natural gas clothes dryers, and others (Li et al, 1993;Abt et al, 2000;Wallace, 2000;Dennekamp et al, 2001;Morawska et al, 2003;He et al, 2004;Wallace et al, 2004;Afshari et al, 2005;Hussein et al, 2005;Matson, 2005;Wallace, 2005). However, studies to date have generally been conducted in 15 or fewer homes and have not compared indoor UFP exposures according to the type of home heating system.…”

Exposure to air pollution and pulmonary function in university students

“…However, indoor sources of NO 2 exposure, such as cooking with gas or the use of a gas heater, can contribute to personal NO 2 exposure and confound the observed association between personal NO 2 exposure level and traffic-related factors (Kodama et al 2002;Dennekamp et al 2001). After adjusting for heat source or cooking source in the present study, we found less significant difference in personal exposure level to NO 2 between categories of traffic-related factors compared to the model without adjustment.…”

Personal exposure to ultrafine particles

“…Outdoor UFP concentrations were measured for 1-2 years in several US cities (U.S. EPA Supersites program; Solomon et al, 2008), and near roadways in California (Zhu et al, 2002) and also in Erfurt and Augsberg, Germany (Wichmann et al, 2000). Residential indoor concentrations have also been reported (Abt et al, 2000;Dennekamp et al, 2001;Long et al, 2001;Wallace and Howard-Reed, 2002;Klepeis et al, 2003;He et al, 2004;Wallace, 2000Wallace, , 2005Wallace, , 2006Wallace et al, 2004Wallace et al, , 2008Hoek et al, 2008). A number of studies of exposures while driving have been done (Westerdahl et al, 2005;Fruin et al, 2008;Zhu et al, 2008).…”