Indoor pollution from solid biomass fuel and rural health damage: A micro-environmental study in rural area of Burdwan, West Bengal

Emissions from biomass combustion are a major source of indoor and outdoor air pollution, and are estimated to cause millions of premature deaths worldwide annually. In this study, we assessed the effect of exposure to biomass smoke on various health status including blood pressure, gaseous component and ventilation pattern of kitchen and living room. For this investigation, a number of measurements were done to obtain indoor air quality (IAQ) data (indoor humidity, temperature, CO, CO2 and O3 concentration). Blood pressure was measured at baseline and one hour post-exposure. Results highlighted that a higher concentration of CO2 was released during burning of dry leaf, straw, cow dung compared to that from straw and LPG gas. Moreover, correlation study showed a strong negative relationship between CO and humidity (r = −0.609, p < 0.000). Symptoms like eye irritation, shortness of breath, cough and dizziness were highly prevalent among biomass users. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed a strong positive (p < 0.05) relationship with age of biomass users. However, wood users suffer from high systolic pressure (p < 0.037). On the other hand, a very poor ventilation pattern was recorded in the studied population.