title: Real-time particulate and CO concentrations from cookstoves in rural households in Udaipur, India.
abstract: Almost 3 billion people around the globe use traditional three-stone cookstoves and open fires to warm and feed themselves. The World Health Organization estimates annual mortality rates from domestic solid fuel combustion to be around 4 million. One of the most affected countries is India. Quantifying pollutant concentrations from these cookstoves during different phases of operation and understanding the factors influencing their variability may help to identify where improvements should be targeted, enhancing indoor air quality for millions of the world's most vulnerable people. Gas and particulate measurements were collected between June and August, 2012, for 51 households using traditional cookstoves, in the villages of Udaipur district, Rajasthan, India. Mean pollutant concentrations during steady-state mode were 4989 μm(2) cm(-3), 9835 μg m(-3), and 18.5 ppm for lung-deposited surface area, PM2.5, and CO, respectively. Simple and multivariate regression analysis was conducted. Fuel amount, fuel diameter, duration of the cookstove run, roof-type, and the room dimension explained between 7% and 21% of the variability for the pollutant metrics. CO demonstrated weaker correlations with explanatory variables. Some of these variables may be indicative of socio-economic status and could be used as proxies of exposure in lieu of pollutant measurements, hence these variables may help identify which households to prioritize for intervention. Such associations should be further explored.
authors.affiliation: †Aerosol and Air Quality Research Laboratory, Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Campus Box 1180, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leavey
authors.affiliation: ‡George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, Campus Box 1196, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Londeree
authors.affiliation: §Foundation for Ecological Security, Udaipur Team, Opp Jyoti School, Fatehpura, Udaipur 313 001, Rajasthan, India.
authors.forename: Pratiti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Priyadarshini
authors.affiliation: §Foundation for Ecological Security, Udaipur Team, Opp Jyoti School, Fatehpura, Udaipur 313 001, Rajasthan, India.
authors.forename: Jagdeesh
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Puppala
authors.affiliation: ∥Division of Biostatistics, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8067, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, United States.
authors.forename: Kenneth B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Schechtman
authors.affiliation: ‡George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, Campus Box 1196, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.
authors.forename: Gautam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yadama
authors.affiliation: †Aerosol and Air Quality Research Laboratory, Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Campus Box 1180, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.
authors.forename: Pratim
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Biswas
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000032:analysis*; D003296:Cooking; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005579:Fossil Fuels / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012424:Rural Population; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D005579:Fossil Fuels; D052638:Particulate Matter; D002248:Carbon Monoxide