Nitrogen dioxide exposures from LPG stoves in a cleaner-cooking intervention trial

Josiah L Kephart; Magdalena Fandiño-Del-Rio; Kendra N Williams; Gary Malpartida; Alexander Lee; Kyle Steenland; Luke P Naeher; Gustavo F Gonzales; Marilu Chiang; William Checkley; Kirsten Koehler; CHAP trial Investigators

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2020.106196

Nitrogen dioxide exposures from LPG stoves in a cleaner-cooking intervention trial

Environ Int. 2021 Jan:146:106196. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106196. Epub 2020 Nov 4.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
² Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ Molecular Biology and Immunology Laboratory, Research Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Department of Cell and Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Philosophy, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru; Biomedical Research Unit, Asociación Benéfica PRISMA, Lima, Peru.
⁴ Howard University, Washington, DC, USA.
⁵ Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁶ Department of Environmental Health Science, College of Public Health, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
⁷ Laboratories of Investigation and Development, Department of Biological and Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Philosophy, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru; High Altitude Research Institute, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
⁸ Biomedical Research Unit, Asociación Benéfica PRISMA, Lima, Peru.
⁹ Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Program in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control, Department of International Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: wcheckl1@jhmi.edu.
¹⁰ Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Abstract

Background: Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves have been promoted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as a clean energy alternative to biomass burning cookstoves.

Objective: We sought to characterize kitchen area concentrations and personal exposures to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) within a randomized controlled trial in the Peruvian Andes. The intervention included the provision of an LPG stove and continuous fuel distribution with behavioral messaging to maximize compliance.

Methods: We measured 48-hour kitchen area NO₂ concentrations at high temporal resolution in homes of 50 intervention participants and 50 control participants longitudinally within a biomass-to-LPG intervention trial. We also collected 48-hour mean personal exposures to NO₂ among a subsample of 16 intervention and 9 control participants. We monitored LPG and biomass stove use continuously throughout the trial.

Results: In 367 post-intervention 24-hour kitchen area samples of 96 participants' homes, geometric mean (GM) highest hourly NO₂ concentration was 138 ppb (geometric standard deviation [GSD] 2.1) in the LPG intervention group and 450 ppb (GSD 3.1) in the biomass control group. Post-intervention 24-hour mean NO₂ concentrations were a GM of 43 ppb (GSD 1.7) in the intervention group and 77 ppb (GSD 2.0) in the control group. Kitchen area NO₂ concentrations exceeded the WHO indoor hourly guideline an average of 1.3 h per day among LPG intervention participants. GM 48-hour personal exposure to NO₂ was 5 ppb (GSD 2.4) among 35 48-hour samples of 16 participants in the intervention group and 16 ppb (GSD 2.3) among 21 samples of 9 participants in the control group.

Discussion: In a biomass-to-LPG intervention trial in Peru, kitchen area NO₂ concentrations were substantially lower within the LPG intervention group compared to the biomass-using control group. However, within the LPG intervention group, 69% of 24-hour kitchen area samples exceeded WHO indoor annual guidelines and 47% of samples exceeded WHO indoor hourly guidelines. Forty-eight-hour NO₂ personal exposure was below WHO indoor annual guidelines for most participants in the LPG intervention group, and we did not measure personal exposure at high temporal resolution to assess exposure to cooking-related indoor concentration peaks. Further research is warranted to understand the potential health risks of LPG-related NO₂ emissions and inform current campaigns which promote LPG as a clean-cooking option.

Keywords: Biomass cookstove; Clean cooking; Household air pollution; Liquefied petroleum gas; Nitrogen dioxide.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollution, Indoor* / analysis
Cooking
Humans
Nitrogen Dioxide
Particulate Matter / analysis
Peru
Petroleum*

Substances

Particulate Matter
Petroleum
Nitrogen Dioxide

Nitrogen dioxide exposures from LPG stoves in a cleaner-cooking intervention trial

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

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MeSH terms

Substances

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