Background

1
Measuring Indoor Air Pollution in Rural and Urban
Homes in NepalKurmi OP, Semple S, Henderson GD,
Ayres JGDepartment of Environmental and
Occupational Medicine, University of
Aberdeen, UK
Background There is growing interest on the
effect of indoor air pollution on both
respiratory and cardiovascular health. The World
Health Organization lists indoor air pollution
from burning solid fuels as one of the top ten
global health risks, responsible for 1.6 million
deaths per year and 2.7 of the global burden of
disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD), pulmonary tuberculosis and lung
cancer1. The IARC monographs working group has
recently concluded that emissions from indoor
burning of coal is carcinogenic (group 1) while
emissions from combustion of biomass fuels such
as wood is probably carcinogenic (group 2A)2. The
effects of solid fuel use are likely to be a
disproportionate on the health of women and
children because of women's traditional roles in
childcare and cooking.
Aim We are undertaking a study to characterise
levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) Carbon
monoxide (CO) in indoor and outdoor air in rural
and urban Nepal in and to examine any
relationship to respiratory and cardiac disorders.
Methods This is a comparative study relating
indoor and outdoor air quality to respiratory
cardiac health in urban and rural Nepal. 24 hour
PM2.5 measurements using Sidepak personal aerosol
monitors dusttrak and gravimetric techniques
were made in a total of 245 rural and 246 urban
homes 24-hr CO was measured by HOBO CO logger in
17 (n41) of rural homes and 33 (n82) of urban
homes A total of 1643 (841 from rural and 802
from urban homes) individuals completed an
investigator delivered questionnaire during our
study. The questionnaire covered socio-economic
and demographic details, cooking and fuel use,
and information about the house. Health data
(respiratory and cardiac history and symptoms)
was also recorded. All the individuals performed
lung function testing and blood pressure was
measured.
PM2.5 in One Rural Nepalese Home
PM2.5 in One Urban Nepalese Home
Conclusions The level of 24-hr PM2.5 in both the
urban and rural homes were much higher than the
WHO (25 µg/m3) and USEPA (35 µg/m3) standards
for outdoor air pollution. CO levels are also
high. Simple interventions such as installation
of flued stoves in the rural homes would
dramatically reduce these exposures. We are in
the process of analysing the health data to
examine the relationship between indoor air
pollution and respiratory and cardiac health.
References 1. WHO Indoor Air Quality and Health
http//www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs292/en
/ 2. IARC Press release http//www.iarc.fr/ENG/P
ress_Releases/pr172a.html
For further information contact
o.p.kurmi_at_abdn.ac.uk