Measurement and modeling of indoor air pollution in rural households with multiple stove interventions in Yunnan, China

In the developing world, indoor air pollution (IAP) created from solid fuel used in traditional biomass cook stoves is a leading contributor of poor respiratory health, global burden of disease, and greenhouse pollutant emissions. In the present study, we piloted an experimental cross-sectional monitoring and evaluation design with 30 households in rural Lijiang and Deqin counties in northwest Yunnan province, China. This approach offers the ability to examine the effectiveness of improved cook stove (ICS) programs with a much smaller sample size than the typical population based pre- and post-intervention study that requires a large sample representative of the population. Continuous PM2.5 was measured with the UCB (currently known as UCB-PATS) and the TSI DustTrak and continuous CO was measured with the HOBO CO logger. Using the traditional method of cooking and heating, mean 24-h PM2.5 and CO concentrations in the kitchen were measured in the range of 0.15–0.71 mg m−3 for PM2.5 and 3.0–11 ppm for CO. These concentrations were compared to using a combination of improved stoves in the kitchen where PM2.5 and CO concentrations were measured in the range of 0.08–0.18 mg m−3 for PM2.5 and 0.7–5.5 ppm for CO. These concentrations yielded statistically significant reduction in IAP when replacing the traditional fireplace or traditional stove with an improved stove combination. Finally, we show a strong correlation between CO and PM2.5 (R2 = 0.72–0.76). The combination of this experimental design along with the monitoring and evaluation protocol presented here may provide a robust framework to rapidly assess the effectiveness of ICS interventions in progress.

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► An experimental design may be used for evaluation of improved cook stoves projects.
► CO may be used as a proxy for PM2.5 when using biomass fuels in cook stoves.
► Improved cook stove installation in China significantly reduces both PM2.5 and CO.
► Alternative clean energy is used with improved cook stoves to reduce fuel use.