Exposure to Particulate Matter from Kerosene Lamps

James Apple, Ryan Vicente, Andrea Yarberry, Nathan Lohse, Jenny Tracy and

Dustin Poppendieck, Ph.D.

Health Issues Associated with Kerosene Lamps

• Burns• Child poisoning due to

inadvertent consumption• Exposure to unburned

fuel• Compromised “visual

health” due to sub-standard luminance

• Indoor air pollution?

Geo Year Book 2006

How bad is indoor air in developing countries?

PM 10 concentration (mg/m3)

Indoor Air – Biomass Stoves 300-3,000

Outdoor Air – Major Cities in Developing Countries

150

USEPA 50

European Union 40

Geo Year Book 2006

• 2 – 2.8 million deaths/year

• ~4% of global mortality

• 1 million childhood deaths/year

• Women: • 2/3 with lung cancer are non-smokers

© Ron Giling Panos Pictures

Indoor Air Particulate Matter Impacts in the Developing World

Particulate Matter Health Impacts

• Acute• Irritation• Increased respiratory

infections (i.e.Tuberculosis)• Bronchitis• Asthma• Allergic reactions

• Chronic• Heart disease• Lung cancer

Particulate Matter Health Impacts

Problem 1

Is the particle mater from kerosene lamps in a size range that is dangerous?

The Experimental Kiosk

Kerosene Lamps

Simple Wick Hurricane Pressure

Cost

Vendor’s Kiosk - Particle Size

Vendor’s Kiosk - 0.02-0.3 micron Particles

1.0E+09

1.0E+10

1.0E+11

1.0E+12

0 20 40 60 80 100

Ult

rafin

e Pa

rticl

e Co

ncen

trati

on (#

/m3 )

Burn Rate (g/hour)

Simple Wick Lamp (Kerosene)

Simple Wick Lamp (Diesel)

Small Hurricane Lamp

Large Hurricane Lamp

Pressure Lamp

Background

1

10

100

1,000

0 20 40 60 80 100

PM 2

.5 C

once

ntra

tion

(mg/

m3 )

Burn Rate (g/hour)

Simple Wick Lamp (Kerosene)

Simple Wick Lamp (Diesel)

Small Hurricane Lamp

Large Hurricane Lamp

Pressure Lamp

24 Hour PM2.5 EPA Standard

Vendor’s Kiosk Burn Rate - PM2.5

Larg

e Hu

rrican

e

Pressu

re

Sim

ple

Wic

k Lam

p

Sm

all H

urrican

e

Kerosene Lamps

Simple Wick Hurricane Pressure

Cost

Particle Emissions

Problem 1: Big Picture

• PM2.5 health standards can be exceeded by an order of magnitude in homes using kerosene lamps

• Migration to improved lighting sources reduces exposure to particulate matter– Simple Wick => Hurricane => LED lights

PM2.5 Ultrafines

Problem 2

What is the relative contribution to particulate matter inhalation if you use both a kerosene light and fuel based cook stove?

6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 20.0 22.0 24.0 -

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Simple Wick LampLinear (Simple Wick Lamp)

Burn Rate (mg/hr)

PM

2.5

Em

issi

on

Rat

e (m

g/h

r)Emission Rates

PM2.5 Concentrations Women and Children are Exposed to in Kenyan Homes

Particulate Mass Inhaled

Ambient Air Simple Wick Lamps

Cook Stoves

ug/day 302.686567164179 1560 9639.40298507462

1,000

3,000

5,000

7,000

9,000

11,000

Par

ticu

late

Mas

s In

hal

ed

(mg

/day

)

Take Home Message:

• Cook Stoves– 10th Global Disease Burden

• Intake of Particulate Matter from Simple Wick Lamps– ~5 times less than cook stoves– ~5 times more than ambient

air

• Likely ancillary health benefits from transition to LED lighting

Ambient Air; 3%

Simple

Wick Lamps;

14%

Cook Stoves;

86%

Health Issues Associated with Kerosene Lamps

• Burns• Child poisoning due to

inadvertent consumption• Exposure to unburned

fuel• compromised “visual

health” due to sub-standard luminance

• Indoor air pollution

Bottom Line:

• Indoor air pollution – Impacting health

• Marketing LED Lamps– Fewer respiratory health

issues for consumer if NOT using fuel based cook stove

• Impacting countries GDP?– Subsidies? – Economic Incentives?

Problem 3

• ~1.6 billion people

• ~1.5% of the world’s crude oil– 38-77 billion liters of

Kerosene

Do kerosene lamps contribute a measureable amount to global warming?

What about Global Warming?

• After carbon dioxide what do we care about?– Methane– Black Carbon

• Removed in weeks rather than decades

5.2//,5.2, PMBCtotaloutsideHurricnePMhurricanemasshurricaneemitted FFEFFFuelBC

Global Warming and Black Carbon Emissions

• 0.04- 0.33 Tg/year. – Global: 8 Tg/year – ~ 2 Tg/year by

residential solid fuel burning

• 0.5-4% of the global black carbon

6.0 8.0 10.012.014.016.018.020.022.024.00.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Simple Wick LampLinear (Simple Wick Lamp)Small Hurricane Lamp

Burn Rate (mg/hr)

PM

2.5

Em

iss

ion

Fa

cto

r (g

/kg

)

Thank You Students!

What about Global Warming

5.2//,5.2, PMBCtotaloutsideHurricanePMhurricanemasshurricaneemitted FFEFFFuelBC

Fuelmass = 38 – 63 billion gallons kerosene burned per year

Fhurricane = 0.3-0.7

EFPM2.5/Hurricane = Experiments

Foutside/total= 0.7-1.0

FBC/PM2.5 = 0.95

CCV

EC

dt

dCo