Indoor concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide from burning solid fuels for cooking and heating in Yunnan Province, China.
The Chinese national pollution census has indicated that the domestic burning of solid fuels is an important contributor to nitrogen dioxide (NO2 ) and sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) emissions in China. To characterize indoor NO2 and SO2 air concentrations in relation to solid fuel use and stove ventilation in the rural counties of Xuanwei and Fuyuan, in Yunnan Province, China, which have among the highest lung cancer rates in the nation, a total of 163 participants in 30 selected villages were enrolled. Indoor 24-h NO2 and SO2 samples were collected in each household over two consecutive days. Compared to smoky coal, smokeless coal use was associated with higher NO2 concentrations [geometric mean (GM) = 132 μg/m(3) for smokeless coal and 111 μg/m(3) for smoky coal, P = 0.065] and SO2 [limit of detection = 24 μg/m(3) ; percentage detected (%Detect) = 86% for smokeless coal and 40% for smoky coal, P < 0.001]. Among smoky coal users, significant variation of NO2 and SO2 air concentrations was observed across different stove designs and smoky coal sources in both counties. Model construction indicated that the measurements of both pollutants were influenced by stove design. This exposure assessment study has identified high levels of NO2 and SO2 as a result of burning solid fuels for cooking and heating.
Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA. weijie.seow2@nih.gov.
W J
WJ
Seow
Division of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, IRAS, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
G S
GS
Downward
Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA.
H
H
Wei
Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA.
N
N
Rothman
Division of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, IRAS, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
B
B
Reiss
Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
J
J
Xu
Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA.
B A
BA
Bassig
Qujing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Qujing, China.
J
J
Li
Qujing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Qujing, China.
J
J
He
Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
H D
HD
Hosgood
China National Environmental Monitoring Center, Beijing, China.
G
G
Wu
College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
R S
RS
Chapman
Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
L
L
Tian
China National Environmental Monitoring Center, Beijing, China.
F
F
Wei
Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA.
N E
NE
Caporaso
Division of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, IRAS, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
R
R
Vermeulen
Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA.
Q
Q
Lan
D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods*; D005579:Fossil Fuels / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D006361:Heating / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000032:analysis*; D012424:Rural Population; D012906:Smoke / Q000032:analysis; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide / Q000032:analysis*; D014691:Ventilation
D005579:Fossil Fuels; D012906:Smoke; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide
Coal; Household air pollution; Indoor; Nitrogen dioxide; Sulfur dioxide; Ventilation