Improving Indoor Air Quality for Poor Families : A Controlled Experiment in Bangladesh

Dasgupta, Susmita ; Huq, Mainul ; Khaliquzzaman, M. ; Wheeler, David

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: AEROSOLS;    AIR MONITORING;    AIR POLLUTION;    AIR QUALITY;    AIR QUALITY MONITORING;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-4422
RP-ID  :  WPS4422

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The World Health Organization's2004 Global and Regional Burden of Disease Report estimatesthat acute respiratory infections from indoor air pollution(pollution from burning wood, animal dung, and otherbio-fuels) kill a million children annually in developingcountries, inflicting a particularly heavy toll on poorfamilies in South Asia and Africa. This paper reports on anexperiment that studied the use of construction materials,space configurations, cooking locations, and householdventilation practices (use of doors and windows) aspotentially-important determinants of indoor air pollution.Results from controlled experiments in Bangladesh areanalyzed to test whether changes in these determinants canhave significant effects on indoor air pollution.Analysisof the data shows, for example, that pollution from thecooking area diffuses into living spaces rapidly andcompletely. Furthermore, it is important to factor in theinteraction between outdoor and indoor air pollution. Amongfuels, seasonal conditions seem to affect the relativeseverity of pollution from wood, dung, and other biomassfuels. However, there is no ambiguity about their collectiveimpact. All are far dirtier than clean fuels. The analysisconcludes that if cooking with clean fuels is not possible,then building the kitchen with porous construction materialand providing proper ventilation in cooking areas will yielda better indoor health environment.