Publication: Improving Indoor Air Quality for Poor Families : A Controlled Experiment in Bangladesh
Date
2007-12
ISSN
Published
2007-12
Author(s)
Dasgupta, Susmita
Huq, Mainul
Khaliquzzaman, M.
Wheeler, David
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 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.
Citation
“Dasgupta, Susmita; Huq, Mainul; Khaliquzzaman, M.; Wheeler, David. 2007. Improving Indoor Air Quality for Poor Families : A Controlled Experiment in Bangladesh. Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4422. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/b4266c8e-b31f-5136-b6b3-52a98a988ac4 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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