Publication: Improving Indoor Air Quality for Poor Families : A Controlled Experiment in Bangladesh
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Date
2009
ISSN
1600-0668 (Electronic)
0905-6947 (Linking)
Published
2009
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Abstract
The World Health Organization's 2004 Global and Regional Burden of Disease Report estimates that acute respiratory infections from indoor air pollution (pollution from burning wood, animal dung, and other bio-fuels) kill a million children annually in developing countries, inflicting a particularly heavy toll on poor families in South Asia and Africa. This paper reports on an experiment that studied the use of different fuels in conjunction with different combinations of construction materials, space configurations, cooking locations, and household ventilation practices (use of doors and windows) as potentially-important determinants of indoor air pollution. Results from controlled experiments in Bangladesh were analyzed to test whether changes in these determinants can have significant effects on indoor air pollution. Analysis of the data shows, for example, that pollution from the cooking area is transported into living spaces rapidly and completely. Furthermore, it is important to factor in the interaction between outdoor and indoor air pollution. Hence, the optimal cooking location should take 'seasonality' in account. Among fuels, seasonal conditions seem to affect the relative severity of pollution from wood, dung, and other biomass fuels. However, there is no ambiguity about their collective impact. All are far dirtier than clean (LPG and Kerosene) fuels. The analysis concludes that if cooking with clean fuels is not possible, then building the kitchen with permeable construction material and providing proper ventilation in cooking areas will yield a better indoor health environment. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Several village-level measures could significantly reduce IAP exposure in Bangladesh. All would require arrangements and the assert of male heads-of-household: negotiated bulk purchases of higher cost, cleaner fuels; purchase of more fuel-efficient stoves; peripheral location of cooking facilities; building the kitchen with permeable construction material; rotation of women in cooking roles, to reduce their exposure; and ventilation of smoke through a stack tall enough to disperse smoke over a relatively broad area. It is expected that village men and women will agree to these measures if they become convinced that IAP poses a serious risk to health, and their actions will significantly reduce the risk. The keys to success are effective public education about the sources and risks of IAP, and financial and technical assistance for changes in cooking arrangements.
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Publication Improving Indoor Air Quality for Poor Families : A Controlled Experiment in Bangladesh(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-12)The World Health Organization's 2004 Global and Regional Burden of Disease Report estimates that acute respiratory infections from indoor air pollution (pollution from burning wood, animal dung, and other bio-fuels) kill a million children annually in developing countries, inflicting a particularly heavy toll on poor families in South Asia and Africa. This paper reports on an experiment that studied the use of construction materials, space configurations, cooking locations, and household ventilation practices (use of doors and windows) as potentially-important determinants of indoor air pollution. Results from controlled experiments in Bangladesh are analyzed to test whether changes in these determinants can have significant effects on indoor air pollution. Analysis of the data shows, for example, that pollution from the cooking area diffuses into living spaces rapidly and completely. Furthermore, it is important to factor in the interaction between outdoor and indoor air pollution. Among fuels, seasonal conditions seem to affect the relative severity of pollution from wood, dung, and other biomass fuels. However, there is no ambiguity about their collective impact. All are far dirtier than clean fuels. The analysis concludes that if cooking with clean fuels is not possible, then building the kitchen with porous construction material and providing proper ventilation in cooking areas will yield a better indoor health environment.Publication Indoor Air Quality for Poor Families: New Evidence from Bangladesh(World Bank, Washington, D.C., 2004-09)Indoor air pollution (IAP) from cooking and heating is estimated to kill a million children annually in developing countries. To promote a better understanding of IAP, the authors investigate the determinants of IAP in Bangladesh using the latest air monitoring technology and a national household survey. The study concludes that IAP is dangerously high for many poor families in Bangladesh.Publication Who Suffers from Indoor Air Pollution? Evidence from Bangladesh(World Bank, Washington, D.C., 2004-10)In this paper the authors investigate individuals' exposure to indoor air pollution. Using new survey data from Bangladesh, they analyze exposure at two levels-differences within households attributable to family roles, and differences across households attributable to income and education. Within households, they relate individuals' exposure to pollution in different locations during their daily round of activity. The authors find high levels of exposure for children and adolescents of both sexes, with particularly serious exposure for children under 5. Among prime-age adults, they find that men have half the exposure of women (whose exposure is similar to that of children and adolescents). They also find that elderly men have significantly lower exposure than elderly women. Across households, they draw on results from their previous paper (Dasgupta et al, 2004), which relate pollution variation across households to choices of cooking fuel, cooking locations, construction materials, and ventilation practices. They find that these choices are significantly affected by family income and adult education levels (particularly for women). Overall, the authors find that the poorest, least-educated households have twice the pollution levels of relatively high-income households with highly-educated adults. For children in a typical household, pollution exposure can be halved by adopting two simple measures-increasing their outdoor time from 3 to 5 or 6 hours a day, and concentrating outdoor time during peak cooking periods. The authors recognize that weather and other factors may intervene occasionally, and that child supervision outdoors may be difficult for some households. However, the potential benefits are so great that neighbors might well agree to pool outdoor supervision once they became aware of the implications for their children's health.Publication Indoor Air Pollution Associated with Household Fuel Use in India : An Exposure Assessment and Modeling Exercise in Rural Districts of Andhra Pradesh, India(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-06)Indoor air pollutants associated with combustion of solid fuels in households of developing countries are now recognized as a major source of health risks to the exposed populations. Based on this background, the present study was designed with three major objectives: to monitor household pollution concentrations in a statistically representative rural sample in southern India; to model household indoor air pollution levels based on information on household-level parameters collected through questionnaires, in order to determine how well such survey information could be used to estimate air pollution levels without monitoring; and to record time/activity and other information at the household-level, in order to estimate the exposures of different household members. This paper contains the following headings: background, study design and methodology, results, and conclusions.Publication Improved Cookstoves and Better Health in Bangladesh(Washington, DC, 2010-06)The objective of this study is to identify lessons for improving cookstoves in Bangladesh through an evaluation of existing programs, the international experience on improved stoves, and the lessons from successes in the sanitation sector. Bangladesh's new renewable energy policy endorses creating a better environment for renewable energy technologies and promoting market development for improved cookstoves (Government of Bangladesh 2009). This study supports this policy direction by examining possible strategies to move forward the development of markets for improved stoves in Bangladesh. The study consists of several components: a national review of household energy programs; an evaluation of national sanitation programs; and an examination of improved cookstove programs from around the world, including China, Guatemala, Haiti, Mongolia, Nepal, and Uganda. The study is based on published literature, consultations with organizations throughout Bangladesh, site visits, and structured discussions with beneficiaries and other stakeholders.
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