Predictors of personal exposure to black carbon among women in southern semi-rural Mozambique
Environ. int
; 131(104962): 1-14, Oct. 2019. tab, ilus, graf, mapas
Article
in English
| RSDM
| ID: biblio-1530886
Responsible library:
MZ1.1
ABSTRACT
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the highest proportion of people using unclean fuels for household energy, which can result in products of incomplete combustion that are damaging for health. Black carbon (BC) is a useful marker of inefficient combustion-related particles; however, ambient air quality data and temporal patterns of personal exposure to BC in SSA are scarce. We measured ambient elemental carbon (EC), comparable to BC, and personal exposure to BC in women of childbearing age from a semi-rural area of southern Mozambique. We measured ambient EC over one year (2014-2015) using a high-volume sampler and an off-line thermo-optical-transmission method. We simultaneously measured 5-min resolved 24-h personal BC using a portable MicroAeth (AE51) in 202 women. We used backwards stepwise linear regression to identify predictors of log-transformed 24-h mean and peak (90th percentile) personal BC exposure. We analyzed data from 187 non-smoking women aged 16-46 years. While daily mean ambient EC reached moderate levels (0.9 µg/m3, Standard Deviation, SD 0.6 µg/m3), daily mean personal BC reached high levels (15 µg/m3, SD 19 µg/m3). Daily patterns of personal exposure revealed a peak between 6 and 7 pm (>35 µg/m3), attributable to kerosene-based lighting. Key determinants of mean and peak personal exposure to BC were lighting source, kitchen type, ambient EC levels, and temperature. This study highlights the important contribution of lighting sources to personal exposure to combustion particles in populations that lack access to clean household energy.
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Subject(s)
Full text:
Available
Collection:
National databases
/
MZ
Health context:
SDG3 - Target 3.9 Reduce the amount of deaths produced by dangerous chemicals and the pollution of the air, water and soil
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SDG3 - Health and Well-Being
Health problem:
Household and Ambient Air Pollution
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Target 3.9: Reduce the amount of deaths produced by dangerous chemicals and the pollution of the air, water and soil
Database:
RSDM
Main subject:
Environmental Monitoring
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Air Pollutants
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Environmental Exposure
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Soot
Limits:
Adult
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Female
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Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
Environ. int
Year:
2019
Document type:
Article
Institution/Affiliation country:
Brown University School of Public Health/US
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CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública/ES
/
Centro de Investigação em Saúde da Manhiça/MZ
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Institute for Environmental Assessment and Water Research/ES
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Institute for Environmental Assessment and Water Research/GB
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Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)/ES
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Universitat Pompeu Fabra/ES
/
Utrecht University/NO