Blog Smoke corrupted lungs
by Catherine LaineOctober 7th, 2006
One of the technologies that the AIDG focuses on are stoves (high efficiency combustion stoves and biogas stoves). Below is an excerpt from the World Health Organization’s fact sheet on indoor air pollution and health that explains why these technologies are so important.
More than half of the world’s population rely on dung, wood, crop waste or coal to meet their most basic energy needs. Cooking and heating with such solid fuels on open fires or stoves without chimneys leads to indoor air pollution. This indoor smoke contains a range of health-damaging pollutants including small soot or dust particles that are able to penetrate deep into the lungs. In poorly ventilated dwellings, indoor smoke can exceed acceptable levels for small particles in outdoor air 100-fold. Exposure is particularly high among women and children, who spend the most time near the domestic hearth. Every year, indoor air pollution is responsible for the death of 1.6 million people - that’s one death every 20 seconds.
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Tackling indoor air pollution in the context of household energy is linked to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, in particular to reducing child mortality (Goal 4), to promoting gender equality and empowering women (Goal 3), to opening up opportunities for income generation and eradicating extreme poverty (Goal 1), and to ensuring environmental sustainability (Goal 7).
Some Fast Facts about indoor air pollution
- Globally, indoor air pollution from solid fuel use is responsible for 1.6 million deaths due to pneumonia, chronic respiratory disease and lung cancer.
- In high-mortality developing countries, indoor smoke is the most lethal killer after malnutrition, unsafe sex and lack of safe water and sanitation.
- 59% of all indoor air pollution-attributable deaths fall on females.
- Possible interventions are improved stoves, improved fuels (e.g. biogas), interventions to the living environment (e.g. installation of chimneys), interventions to user behaviour (e.g. drying fuel wood before use).
To find out more, read the rest of the fact sheet.
