| IHS
Mission & Goals: |
Groom
Skills,
Gather Evidence and
Generate Knowledge for people's health.
To Improve the
Efficacy,
Quality & Equity
of Health Systems. |
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Indoor Air Pollution
Exposure Atlas (IAPEA) 2001 |
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A study
on indoor air quality in three districts of Andhra Pradesh and development of an exposure
atlas
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This
study was undertaken with a view to developing a methodology
to design a model for predicting quantitative exposures to
indoor air pollution (IAP) from qualitative information on
fuel use and housing characteristics to construct an exposure
atlas which can be applied in a larger spatial context in the
future. |
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Preparation
of inventory of existing data sources with information
related to household exposures to IAP from the use of solid
fuels for cooking and/or heating.
Conduct of household level surveys to
collect qualitative data in approximately 1450 households on housing characteristics,
demographic, socio-economic parameters, indicators of IAP such as fuel type, stove type
and ventilation conditions etc.
Collection of quantitative information on
IAP by monitoring each household in the same districts for Respirable Particulate Matter
(RPM).
Development of a model equation based on
data available from the current study which will be used to build an exposure atlas to
predict exposures to IAP in population using data on a partial set of variables available
from national level surveys.
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| Methodology |
A three-stage
cluster-sampling scheme was followed. A mix of random sampling
for selection of households for survey and purposive sampling
for monitoring activity was adapted. A questionnaire-based
household survey was conducted in around 1450 households in the
3 selected districts of Telangana region - Ranga Reddy, Warangal
and Nizamabad. The questionnaire captured information on topics
related to housing characteristics, demographic parameters, fuel
usage, cooking and time activity patterns, and personal habits,
all of which are important determinants of exposures to IAP
levels. Monitoring activity was conducted in 420 households in
the 3 districts by Sri Ramchandra Medical College and Research
Institute (SRMC & RI), Chennai, to collect quantitative
information on respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM).
The center for occupational & environmental health (COEH),
University of Berkeley, California, developed a model for
estimating exposures to IAP using data obtained as a result of
survey and monitoring activities. |
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| Results |
Socio-economic
Characterstics: Majority of the villagers are either small or
marginal farmers and up to 20% are landless. Prevalence of
education is low in both the samples. Approximately 23% of the
households have not even completed one year of schooling,
while 49 % and 44 % of the households in monitored and
non-monitored hhs had five years of schooling as the highest
education level. 31 % and 36% of the households owned radio
and TV respectively.
Housing and Kitchen
Characteristics: Housing characterstics in both monitored and
non-monitored households are remarkably similar. In about 48%
of the households, roofs are made of tiles and slates, 30% of
hhs had leaves, bamboo and thatched roofs. Most of the
households had walls made of mud/ dirt (70-77%). A much larger
proportion of households cook their food in the open air in
monitored and non- monitored households. In contrast, the
number of households with indoor kitchen without partitions
was smaller (6% in non-monitored versus 25% in monitored).
27.5 - 29% of the households had indoor kitchen with
partitions in both monitored and non-monitored households.
Fuel-use pattern: Biomass fuel
use was prevelent in all rural households of the three study
districts in A.P. Majority of the households use wood for
cooking (72-81%). Mixed fuel usage was 9%, whereas prevalence
of clean fuel usage was 12%. Majority of the households were
found to be traditional stove users cooking on 3-stone stoves
plastered with mud (56% in monitored and 75% in
non-monitored). The use of traditional stoves with chimneys is
10.5% in monitored against 8.5% in non-monitored hhs.Usage of
improved stoves is negligible.
With regards to the monitoring
of RSPM concentrations, households using mixed fuels have the
highest concentrations, mean 24-hr kitchen concentrations in
mixed fuel using households is nearly three and half times
higher than that of kerosene using households (732 mg/m3 vs.
203 mg/m3). LPG users have the lowest
concentrations in both kitchen and living areas. Households
with poor kitchen ventilation had more than a two-fold risk of
having high kitchen concentrations compared to households with
good ventilation.
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| Conclusions |
The IAPEA study was designed to
explore the possibilities of arriving at a simple methodology
by which qualitative information on fuel use and housing
characteristics could be used to predict quantitative
exposures to IAP in rural households of Andhra Pradesh. This
was also the first attempt at 24-hour monitoring in exposure
surveys in India. Before undertaking this survey, national
level surveys were reviewed which revealed that certain
household characteristics are not well defined. Hence an
attempt was made to collect information on these variables
systematically through the current survey. They could also
influence the design of large-scale survey instruments, such
as the Census or National Sample Survey, by way of introducing
questions on the key determinants of exposure with a view to
facilitating classification of population sub-groups spatially
into exposure sub-categories. This would help in better
tailoring and targeting mitigation measures through projects
or programs right from the design stage. Hence, the next step
needed to facilitate interventions is to develop greater
confidence in the key determinants of exposure to indoor air
pollution from biomass fuels, and use that to develop robust
models that can facilitate exposure classification of
population sub-groups. |
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| The project was funded by World Bank. |
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For details and enquiries write to Satish Kumar |
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Updated on10th June, 2002.
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