Berkeley Air Monitoring Group (United States)

BackgroundExposure to household air pollution from burning coal and biomass for cooking is associated with higher blood pressure and other adverse indicators of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. Evidence demonstrating that switching from biomass to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will reduce blood pressure is limited.MethodsAs part of a larger trial of 3200 households, we conducted a randomized trial of 342 women aged 40 to 79 years who lived in households using biomass for cooking in rural areas of Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda to assess the effects of a free LPG stove and fuel intervention. Systolic blood pressure (one of four primary outcomes) was measured once prior to randomization and up to five times after randomization over 18 months.ResultsA total of 418 participants were randomized (n=209 to intervention, and n=209 to control). Mean (standard deviation) systolic blood pressure at baseline was 112.7 (14.9) mmHg and 112.6 (14.7) mmHg in intervention and control participants, respectively. Adherence within the intervention arm was high. Among the 342 participants with a valid baseline and at least one valid post-randomization blood pressure measurement, mean (SD) post-randomization average systolic blood pressure was 111.5 (13.2) mmHg in the intervention arm and 111.9 (12.5) mmHg in the control arm, with an adjusted mean of difference of −0.56 mmHg (95% confidence interval, −2.19 to 1.07, p-value = 0.50).ConclusionsWe did not observe evidence that an 18-month LPG stove and fuel intervention reduced blood pressure in women.

Background:Exposure to household air pollution from the combustion of solid fuels is a leading risk factor for death and disease in low- and middle-income countries, where cleaner cooking and lighting options are often unavailable. Few studies have measured personal exposure during pregnancy, a sensitive period of development, particularly in Africa.Objective:We aimed to characterize exposure during early to midpregnancy among women in Rwanda and to assess predictors of personal exposure, including stove and fuel type, cooking behaviors, housing conditions, sociodemographic characteristics, and other potential sources of exposure.Methods:We assessed 24-h baseline personal exposure data among 798 pregnant women in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial in Rwanda, including 717 with fine particulate matter (), 569 with black carbon (BC), and 716 with carbon monoxide (CO) samples. Best subsets regression identified key predictors of personal , BC, and CO exposure, defined by maximizing adjusted values and minimizing prediction errors (Mallow’s CP and the Bayesian information criterion).Results:The 24-h median concentrations at baseline were [], (7.6), and (1.9) for , BC, and CO, respectively. Households using kerosene as a primary lighting source had higher levels (, 107) than those using electricity (, 69). Women in households with modified biomass stoves with a chimney had lower median values (, 52) for , compared with those in households using open fires (, 74) and other traditional stove types (, 43) that yielded the highest values. Consensus models from the best subsets’ regression explained 26% of the variation in , 36% in BC, and 31% in CO concentrations.Conclusions:Based on a unique and large dataset describing personal exposure among pregnant women in rural Rwanda, lighting and cooking practices described some variability in household concentrations, but overall, substantial unexplained variability remained. https://doi.org/10.1289/JHP1049

The “Direct Air Capture Recovery of Energy for CCUS Partnership (DAC RECO2UP)” project employs a team approach and supports the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s (DOE-FECM) goal to decrease the cost of capture through the testing of existing direct air capture (DAC) materials in integrated field units that produce a concentrated carbon dioxide (CO2) stream of at least 95% purity. Solid-amine CO2 adsorption-desorption contactor technology, proven in the laboratory, is undergoing high-fidelity design/validation. Recoverable energy is readily available from a large number of commercial locations where DAC can be deployed; therefore, advancing the fidelity of energy recovery to directly reduce the cost of DAC is a key project objective. In addition, many commercial facilities have low-concentration CO2 vents that are uneconomical to treat alone but could provide more efficient mass and thermal transport to DAC systems with integrated energy recovery and flexible CO2 treatment capabilities. Technology scale-up leverages past research and occurs in a commercially relevant environment at the National Carbon Capture Center. Prescreening techno-economic analysis, risk assessments, and life cycle analysis are being performed by experienced team members. Results of the project will address critical technical barriers that, when solved, will improve the capital and operating costs of DAC while validating commercial relevance of cost and product quality/need.

Maternal PM2.5 exposures in informal settlements in Nairobi exceeded WHO air quality targets, with low-quality cooking fuel use identified as the most important non-ambient source.

Background and Aim Low birth-weight is a leading contributor to the burden of disease in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Household air pollution (HAP) has been reported to impact birth-weight, but evidence of quantitative exposure-response relationships is limited. As part of the multi-country Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial, we examined associations between prenatal exposure to HAP and birth-weight, as well as weight-for-age z-scores, among 3200 pregnant women (recruited between 9 to <20 weeks of gestation). Women randomized to the intervention arm received an LPG stove and free fuel while women in the control arm continued using biomass for cooking. Methods We measured pre-natal 24-hour personal exposures to PM₂.₅, CO, and BC at baseline (pre-intervention), 24-28 and 32-36 weeks of gestation. Gestational age was determined by ultrasound examination in all women and birthweight was measured within 24-hours of birth using standardized procedures. We developed multiple regression models to examine the association of estimated average exposure during gestation with birthweight and weight-for-age z-scores, adjusting for confounders. Results Exposure-response models included live births (n=3,060) with valid birth weight (n=3,002) and pollution measurements (PM₂.₅; n=2717), (CO; n=2560), and (BC; n=2772). In adjusted linear models, an inter-quartile increase in average pre-natal exposure to BC (7.3 µg/m³) was associated with a 22.8g reduction in birthweight (95% confidence interval [CI]:-39.5g,-5.8g) and with reduced weight for age Z-scores of -0.05 standard deviations (95%CI: -0.08, -0.01 standard deviations). The associations between PM₂.₅ and birth-weight were in the same direction, but less robust. Relationships between CO exposures and birth-weight were consistent with a null association. Conclusions While modest, the observed associations between HAP exposure during pregnancy and birth-weight, particularly for BC, provide support for continuing efforts to address exposure to HAP alongside other drivers of low birth-weight in LMICs. Keywords: Exposure-response, household air pollution, low birth-weight, HAPIN Trial

Background:Exposure to arising from solid fuel combustion is estimated to result in million premature deaths and 91 million lost disability-adjusted life years annually. Interventions attempting to mitigate this burden have had limited success in reducing exposures to levels thought to provide substantive health benefits.Objectives:This paper reports exposure reductions achieved by a liquified petroleum gas (LPG) stove and fuel intervention for pregnant mothers in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) randomized controlled trial.Methods:The HAPIN trial included 3,195 households primarily using biomass for cooking in Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda. Twenty-four-hour exposures to , carbon monoxide (CO), and black carbon (BC) were measured for pregnant women once before randomization into control () and LPG () arms and twice thereafter (aligned with trimester). Changes in exposure were estimated by directly comparing exposures between intervention and control arms and by using linear mixed-effect models to estimate the impact of the intervention on exposure levels.Results:Median postrandomization exposures of particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter () in the intervention arm were lower by 66% at the first (71.5 vs. ), and second follow-up visits (69.5 vs. ) compared to controls. BC exposures were lower in the intervention arm by 72% (9.7 vs. ) and 70% (9.6 vs. ) at the first and second follow-up visits, respectively, and carbon monoxide exposure was 82% lower at both visits (1.1 vs. ) in comparison with controls. Exposure reductions were consistent over time and were similar across research locations.Discussion:Postintervention exposures in the intervention arm were at the lower end of what has been reported for LPG and other clean fuel interventions, with 69% of samples falling below the World Health Organization Annual Interim Target 1 of . This study indicates that an LPG intervention can reduce exposures to levels at or below WHO targets. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10295

BackgroundHousehold air pollution (HAP) from cooking with solid fuels has adverse health effects. REACCTING (Research on Emissions, Air quality, Climate, and Cooking Technologies in Northern Ghana) was a randomized cookstove intervention study that aimed to determine the effects of two types of “improved” biomass cookstoves on health using self-reported health symptoms and biomarkers of systemic inflammation from dried blood spots for female adult cooks and children, and anthropometric growth measures for children only.MethodsTwo hundred rural households were randomized into four different cookstove groups. Surveys and health measurements were conducted at four time points over a two-year period. Chi-square tests were conducted to determine differences in self-reported health outcomes. Linear mixed models were used to assess the effect of the stoves on inflammation biomarkers in adults and children, and to assess the z-score deviance for the anthropometric data for children.ResultsWe find some evidence that two biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation, serum amyloid A and C-reactive protein, decreased among adult primary cooks in the intervention groups relative to the control group. We do not find detectable impacts for any of the anthropometry variables or self-reported health.ConclusionsOverall, we conclude that the REACCTING intervention did not substantially improve the health outcomes examined here, likely due to continued use of traditional stoves, lack of evidence of particulate matter emissions reductions from “improved” stoves, and mixed results for HAP exposure reductions.Clinical trial registryClinicalTrials.gov (National Institutes of Health); Trial Registration Number: NCT04633135; Date of Registration: 11 November 2020 – Retrospectively registered.URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04633135?term=NCT04633135&draw=2&rank=1

Abstract BackgroundExposure to PM2.5 arising from solid fuel combustion is estimated to result in approximately 2.3 million premature deaths and 90 million lost disability-adjusted life years annually. ‘Clean’ cooking interventions attempting to mitigate this burden have had limited success in reducing exposures to levels that may yield improved health outcomes.ObjectivesThis paper reports exposure reductions achieved by a liquified petroleum gas (LPG) stove and fuel intervention for pregnant mothers in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) randomized controlled trial.MethodsThe HAPIN trial included 3,195 households primarily using biomass for cooking in Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda. 24-hour exposures to PM2.5, carbon monoxide (CO), and black carbon (BC) were measured for pregnant women once before randomization into control (n=1605) and LPG arms (n=1590) and twice thereafter (aligned with trimester). Changes in exposure were estimated by directly comparing exposures between intervention and control arms and by using linear mixed-effect models to estimate the impact of the intervention on exposure levels.ResultsMedian exposures of PM2.5, BC, and CO post-randomization in the intervention arm were lower by 66% (70.7 versus 24.0 μg/m3), 71% (9.6 versus 2.8 μg/m3), and 83% (1.2 versus ppm), respectively, compared to the control arm. Exposure reductions were similar across research locations. Post-intervention PM2.5 exposures in the intervention arm were at the lower end of what has been reported for LPG and other clean fuel interventions, with 69% of PM2.5 samples falling below the WHO Annual Interim Target 1 of 35 μg/m3.DiscussionThis study indicates that an LPG intervention with high displacement of traditional cooking can reduce exposures to levels thought to be associated with health benefits. Success in reducing exposures was likely due to strong performance of, and high adherence to the intervention.