A review of diseases associated with household air pollution due to the use of biomass fuels

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.05.087

Journal of Hazardous Materials

Volume 192, Issue 2, 30 August 2011, Pages 425-431

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.05.087 Get rights and content

Abstract

Nearly one third of the world's population use biomass fuels such as coal, wood, animal dung, and crop residues as their primary source of domestic energy. Due to their incomplete combustion, a multitude of pollutants associated with high levels of indoor air pollution (IAP) are released which include suspended particulate matter (SPM), carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), etc. There is a line of evidence that exposure to those pollutants can lead to increased risk of diseases including respiratory infections (e.g., pneumonia, tuberculosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and asthma), low birth weight, cataracts, and cardiovascular events. It is one of the major global public health threats that require greater efforts for prevention through research and policy-making. This review summarizes the available information on potential health risks associated with biomass fuel use.

Highlights

► The health hazard associated with the use of biomass fuel is one important area of indoor pollution. ► A review on the type of diseases resulting from the use of biomass fuel is evaluated thoroughly. ► The status of indoor pollution and related diseases is evaluated by comparing many studies. ► It is one of the major global public health threats that require greater efforts for prevention.

Introduction

Being an important source of indoor air pollution (IAP), domestic energy source tends to be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The status of the IAP can thus directly reflect the level and duration of exposure to deleterious pollutants [1]. Among various sources of IAP, the environmental significance of cooking activities has drawn a great deal of attention. Cooking-related IAP is known to be affected by the combined effects of fuel types, food materials, cooking styles, and so on.

Many types of pollutants are found to be released mainly from food materials and/or ingredients when food is fried, stir-fried, or grilled at a high temperature [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]. Like many deleterious substances produced from food materials via fire-based cooking, they are also emitted in the form of smoke and particles from cooking fuel. Those pollutants are identified to consist of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbonyls, carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxides, sulfur oxides (principally from coal), formaldehyde, and polycyclic organic matter (e.g., carcinogenous benzo[a] pyrene) [7]. Approximately half the world's population and up to 90% of rural households in developing countries still rely on unprocessed biomass fuels in the form of wood, animal dung, and crop residues [8]. China, Korea, South Africa, and some other countries also extensively use coal for domestic needs [7]. These fuels are burnt indoors in open fires using poorly functioning stoves. As combustion is incomplete in most of these stoves, it can also serve as a key route to transfer high levels of indoor pollutants to those who are responsible for cooking and their family members. Exposure to IAP may be responsible for nearly 2 million excess deaths in developing countries and for some 4% of the global burden of disease [9]. Children are particularly vulnerable to IAP because their metabolic pathways are underdeveloped and immature [10]. In this article, we intended to explore the diverse health risks associated with cooking emissions in relation with the use of coal and biomass fuels. The overall picture of our coverage on these issues is briefly depicted in Fig. 1.

Section snippets

Type of fuel used for cooking

The energy requirement for cooking depends on many factors such as the type of food cooked, the number of meals cooked, household size, the specific combination of energy source, and cooking equipment employed (type of stove, cooking pans, etc.). Traditional biomass fuel is one of the major sources of domestic energy especially in the developing countries. About 2.4 billion people rely on traditional biomass, mainly for cooking and heating as they have limited access to better alternative

Respiratory diseases associated with cooking activities

As the major sources of IAP, combustion by-products released from heating and cooking can increase potential health risks (Table 2). There is now evidence linking an increased risk of cooking emissions with diverse diseases which include respiratory tract infections, exacerbations of inflammatory lung conditions, cardiac events, stroke, eye disease, tuberculosis (TB), and even cancer [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20]. For instance, acute respiratory infections in children and chronic

Non-respiratory illness

Indoor air pollution resulting from the use of biomass fuels can cause enormous health burden apart from respiratory illness. A tight relationship is thus expected to exist between such activities and an increased risk of non-respiratory illness such as: low birth weight in neonates, nutritional deficiencies, cardiac events, stroke, eye disease, nasopharyngeal, and laryngeal cancer [64], [65], [66].

Conclusion

Indoor air pollution resulting from the use of biomass fuel has the great potential to affect global mortality and morbidity. The amount of fuel burnt individually at the household level may be much less than the amount in use in industries. However, its impact on health is greater due to its ubiquitous and persistent presence in the indoor environment and the greater amount of time spent indoors by humans, especially women and children. This issue is one of the neglected areas of global

Acknowledgment

This study was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) (No. 2010-0007876).

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ReviewA review of diseases associated with household air pollution due to the use of biomass fuels

Abstract

Highlights

Introduction

Section snippets

Type of fuel used for cooking

Respiratory diseases associated with cooking activities

Non-respiratory illness

Conclusion

Acknowledgment

Atmos. Environ.

Chemosphere: Glob. Sci. Change

Int. J. Infect. Dis.

Sci. Total Environ.

Lancet

Respir. Med.

Resp. Med.

Int. J. Infect. Dis.

Lancet Oncol.

Ann. Epidemiol.

Lancet

Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg.

Fuel combustion, air pollution exposure, and health: the situation in developing countries

Annu. Rev. Energy Environ.

Chemical composition of emissions from urban sources of fine organic aerosol

Environ. Sci. Technol.

Carbonyl emissions from commercial cooking sources in Hong Kong

J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc.

Gaseous and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emissions from commercial restaurants in Hong Kong

J. Environ. Monit.

An investigation on hazardous and odorous pollutants emission during cooking activities

J. Hazard. Mater.

The burden of disease from indoor air pollution in developing countries: comparison of estimates

Int. J. Hyg. Environ. Health

UNEP, UNDP, World Bank. 2007–08 World Resources: A Guide to the Global Environment

Indoor air pollution in developing countries and acute lower respiratory infections in children

Thorax

Emission Factors Program Task 7—Review of Residential & Small-Scale Commercial Combustion Sources. Report to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Measurements of emission factors for primary carbonaceous particles from residential raw-coal combustion in China

Geophys. Res. Lett.

Levels and risk factors for perinatal mortality in Ahmedabad, India

Bull. World Health Organ.

Wood smoke health effects: a review

Inhal. Toxicol.

Wood smoke exposure and risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Eur. Respir. J.

Case-control study of indoor cooking smoke exposure and cataract in Nepal and India

Int. J. Epidemiol.

Lung cancer and indoor pollution from heating and cooking with solid fuels

Am. J. Epidemiol.

Biomass fuels and respiratory diseases—a review of the evidence

Proc. Am. Thorac. Soc.

Lung cancer in never smokers: a review

J. Clin. Oncol.

Cooking fuel smoke and respiratory symptoms among women in low-income areas of Maputo

Environ. Health Perspect.

Indoor air pollution in developing countries: A major environmental and public health challenge

Bull. World Health Organ.

Biomass fuels are the probable risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in rural South China

Thorax

The effect of indoor air pollutants on otitis media and asthma in children

Laryngoscope

Global estimate of the incidence of clinical pneumonia among children under five years of age

Bull. World Health Organ.

Domestic smoke pollution and chronic bronchitis in a rural community of the Hill Region of Nepal

Thorax

Exposure to domestic cooking fuels and chronic bronchitis

Indian J. Chest Dis. Allied Sci.

Domestic biomass fuel combustion and chronic bronchitis in two rural Bolivian villages

Thorax

Review
A review of diseases associated with household air pollution due to the use of biomass fuels