In-kitchen aerosol exposure in twelve cities across the globe

• Published in: Environment international 2022-04, Vol.162, p.107155-107155, Article 107155
• Main Authors: Kumar, Prashant, Hama, Sarkawt, Abbass, Rana Alaa, Nogueira, Thiago, Brand, Veronika S., Wu, Huai-Wen, Abulude, Francis Olawale, Adelodun, Adedeji A., Anand, Partibha, Andrade, Maria de Fatima, Apondo, William, Asfaw, Araya, Aziz, Kosar Hama, Cao, Shi-Jie, El-Gendy, Ahmed, Indu, Gopika, Kehbila, Anderson Gwanyebit, Ketzel, Matthias, Khare, Mukesh, Kota, Sri Harsha, Mamo, Tesfaye, Manyozo, Steve, Martinez, Jenny, McNabola, Aonghus, Morawska, Lidia, Mustafa, Fryad, Muula, Adamson S., Nahian, Samiha, Nardocci, Adelaide Cassia, Nelson, William, Ngowi, Aiwerasia V., Njoroge, George, Olaya, Yris, Omer, Khalid, Osano, Philip, Sarkar Pavel, Md Riad, Salam, Abdus, Santos, Erik Luan Costa, Sitati, Cynthia, Shiva Nagendra, S.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aerosols; Air Pollutants - analysis; Air Pollution, Indoor - analysis; Bangladesh; Brazil; CArE-Homes Project; Cities; Cooking; Cooking emissions; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Ethiopia; Health risk; In-home aerosol exposure; India; Kenya; Lower-middle income countries; Particulate Matter - analysis
• ISSN: 0160-4120; 1873-6750
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107155

[Display omitted] •In-kitchen particulate matter (PM) exposure was measured across twelve major cities.•Charcoal-based cooking increased PM2.5 by ∼ 3.1-times compared with LPG.•Dual (mechanical + natural) ventilation reduced exposure by ∼ 2-times than natural only.•Irrespective of ventilation and fuel type, extensive frying resulted in highest exposure.•Hazard ratio was above the standard limit in 47 out of the 60 homes. Poor ventilation and polluting cooking fuels in low-income homes cause high exposure, yet relevant global studies are limited. We assessed exposure to in-kitchen particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) employing similar instrumentation in 60 low-income homes across 12 cities: Dhaka (Bangladesh); Chennai (India); Nanjing (China); Medellín (Colombia); São Paulo (Brazil); Cairo (Egypt); Sulaymaniyah (Iraq); Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); Akure (Nigeria); Blantyre (Malawi); Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania) and Nairobi (Kenya). Exposure profiles of kitchen occupants showed that fuel, kitchen volume, cooking type and ventilation were the most prominent factors affecting in-kitchen exposure. Different cuisines resulted in varying cooking durations and disproportional exposures. Occupants in Dhaka, Nanjing, Dar-es-Salaam and Nairobi spent > 40% of their cooking time frying (the highest particle emitting cooking activity) compared with ∼ 68% of time spent boiling/stewing in Cairo, Sulaymaniyah and Akure. The highest average PM2.5 (PM10) concentrations were in Dhaka 185 ± 48 (220 ± 58) μg m−3 owing to small kitchen volume, extensive frying and prolonged cooking compared with the lowest in Medellín 10 ± 3 (14 ± 2) μg m−3. Dual ventilation (mechanical and natural) in Chennai, Cairo and Sulaymaniyah reduced average in-kitchen PM2.5 and PM10 by 2.3- and 1.8-times compared with natural ventilation (open doors) in Addis Ababa, Dar-es-Salam and Nairobi. Using charcoal during cooking (Addis Ababa, Blantyre and Nairobi) increased PM2.5 levels by 1.3- and 3.1-times compared with using natural gas (Nanjing, Medellin and Cairo) and LPG (Chennai, Sao Paulo and Sulaymaniyah), respectively. Smaller-volume kitchens (