Direct exposure to household fine particulate air pollution (HAP) associated with inefficient combustion of fuels (wood, charcoal, coal, crop residues, kerosene, etc.) for cooking, space-heating, and lighting is estimated to result in 2.3 (1.6-3.1) million premature yearly deaths globally. HAP emitted indoors escapes outdoors and is a leading source of outdoor ambient fine particulate air pollution (AAP) in low- and middle-income countries, often being a larger contributor than well-recognized sources including road transport, industry, coal-fired power plants, brick kilns, and construction dust. We review published scientific studies that model the contribution of HAP to AAP at global and major sub-regional scales. We describe strengths and limitations of the current state of knowledge on HAP's contribution to AAP and the related impact on public health and provide recommendations to improve these estimates. We find that HAP is a dominant source of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) globally - regardless of variations in model types, configurations, and emission inventories used - that contributes approximately 20 % of total global PM2.5 exposure. There are large regional variations: in South Asia, HAP contributes ∼ 30 % of ambient PM2.5, while in high-income North America the fraction is ∼ 7 %. The median estimate indicates that the household contribution to ambient air pollution results in a substantial premature mortality burden globally of about 0.77(0.54-1) million excess deaths, in addition to the 2.3 (1.6-3.1) million deaths from direct HAP exposure. Coordinated global action is required to avert this burden.

Background : In India, approximately 66% of households rely on dung or woody biomass as fuels for cooking. These fuels are burned under inefficient conditions, leading to household air pollution (H...

Household air pollution generated from solid fuel use for cooking is one of the leading risk factors for ill-health globally. Deployment of advanced cookstoves to reduce emissions has been a major focus of intervention efforts. However, household usage of these stoves and resulting changes in usage of traditional polluting stoves is not well characterized. In Palwal District, Haryana, India, we carried out an intervention utilizing the Philips HD4012 fan-assisted stove, one of the cleanest biomass stoves available. We placed small, unobtrusive data-logging iButton thermometers on both the traditional and Philips stoves to collect continuous data on use patterns in 200 homes over 60 weeks. Intervention stove usage declined steadily over time and stabilized after approximately 200 days; use of the traditional stove remained relatively constant. We additionally evaluated how well short-duration usage measures predicted long-term use. Measuring usage over time of both traditional and intervention stoves provides better understanding of cooking behaviors and can lead to more precise quantification of potential exposure reductions and consequent health benefits attributable to interventions.

Environmental Health Perspectives is an Open Access journal published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Environmental Health Perspectives is an Open Access journal published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.