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An introduction to household energy and health

It is the developing countries that face the greatest threat from indoor pollution, where some 3.5 billion people, mostly in rural areas, but also in many cities, continue to rely on traditional fuels for cooking and heating. Burning such fuels produces large amount of smoke and other air pollutants in the confined space of the home, resulting in high exposure. In these circumstances, exposure to pollutants is often far higher indoors than outdoors.

The impact of air indoor pollution are significant: half the world's population is exposed to high levels of indoor air pollution, mainly the result of burning solid fuels for cooking and heating. Globally, this pollution is estimated to cause 36% of all lower respiratory infections and 22% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, accounting for 1.6 million premature deaths each year (The World Health Report 2002: Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life, World Health Organisation, Geneva, 2002).

Indoor air quality (IAQ) refers to the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of air in the indoor environment within a building or an institution or commercial facility. These characteristics can be influenced by many factors, even though these buildings or facilities do not have industrial processes and operations found in factories and plants. (Regional workshop on Household Energy and Health, New Delhi, India).

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Page created: 07 August 2003; Last edited: 30 May 2007; Version: 6
Knowledge Bank text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

Pagename: HouseholdEnergyAndHealth @HEDON: HBAA