Last modified: 2019-02-13
Abstract
Abstract
Background: Household air pollution from biomass fuel is a main causes of health problem in Ethiopia. Ninety-three percent (70.6% in urban and 98.8% in rural) of of households in Ethiopia use some type of solid fuel for cooking, with virtually all of these households using wood. The level of PM2.5 concentration on household air pollution is limited in Ethiopia. The purpose this study was to determine the level of household fine particulate matter (PM2.5) Concentrations from cooking fuels in Wolaita Sodo town, Ethiopia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to measure Particulate matter of PM2.5 in109 kitchens in randomly selected households. Sample sizes were distributed based on probability proportional to size of the households in each district. The University of California Berkeley Particulate Monitor data logger devices were used for measuring the level of PM2.5. These instruments were installed in households according the guideline of School of Public Health, University of California-Berkely, USA. Data were managed and analyzed using EpiData 3.1 and SPSS version 21. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were used to evaluate the variation across fuel sources.
Results: Out of 109 households, 83 (76.9%) and 26 (23.1%) used predominately biomass fuel and clean fuel sources for cooking respectively. PM2.5 concentration was measured for the duration of 24 hours. The overall mean (SD) concentration of PM2.5 in kitchen cooking area were 495.29µg/m3(183.35). About 92(84.4%) of the cook spent two or more hours in cooking. The magnitude of PM2.5 from biomass fuel users for cooking was a mean (±SD) of 539.25 µg/m3(SD=176.91), followed by clean fuel users, 354.97µg/m3 (125.18). The use mixed fuel accounted for the increased level of PM2.5 in clean fuel users. ANOVA between fuel types was statisticaly significant at p-value <0.001.
Conclusion: The concentration of PM2.5 were higher than the World Health Organization air quality guideline. The contribution of biomass fuel concentration was the largest of all fuel sources. Therefore, supplying clean fuel sources to the households is decisive intervention of all.
Key words: Household Air Pollution, Indoor Air Pollution, Particulate Matter, Fine Particulate Matter2.5, Type of fuel source, cooking fuels, Time spent in cooking, Wolaita Sodo Ethiopia