title: Household concentrations and personal exposure of PM2.5 among urban residents using different cooking fuels.
abstract: Exposure to PM2.5 is a leading environmental risk factor for many diseases and premature deaths, arousing growing public concerns. In this study, indoor and outdoor PM2.5 concentrations were investigated during the heating and non-heating seasons in an urban area in northwest China. Personal inhalation exposure levels among different age groups were evaluated, and the difference attributable to different cooking fuels including coal, gas and electricity, was discussed. The average concentrations of PM2.5 in the kitchen and the bedroom were 125±51 and 119±64μg/m(3) during the heating season, and 80±67 and 80±50μg/m(3) during the non-heating season, respectively. Indoor PM2.5, from indoor combustion sources but also outdoor penetration, contributed to about 75% of the total PM2.5 exposure. Much higher indoor concentrations and inhalation exposure levels were found in households using coal for cooking compared to those using gas and electricity. Changing from coal to gas or electricity for cooking could result in a reduction of PM2.5 in the kitchen by 40-70% and consequently lower inhalation exposure levels, especially for children and women.
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Tianxin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State key lab of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
authors.forename: Suzhen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Delong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Gansu Academy of Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
authors.forename: Yaqun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State key lab of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
authors.forename: Beibei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State key lab of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
authors.forename: Xiuge
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, United States.
authors.forename: Brian P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Leaderer
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Jiangsu Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Nanjing 210036, China.
authors.forename: Guofeng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, United States. Electronic address: yawei.zhang@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Yawei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State key lab of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China. Electronic address: duan_jasmine@126.com.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Duan
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002681:China; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005191:Family Characteristics; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter
keywords: Different cooking fuel; Household air pollution; Inhalation exposure; PM(2.5)