PM{sub}10 concentrations were measured in two contrasting rural Bolivian villages that cook with biomass fuels. In one of the villages, cooking was done exclusively indoors, and in the other, it was done primarily outdoors. Concentrations in allpotential microenvironments of exposure (i.e., home, kitchen, and outdoors) were measured for a total of 621 samples. Geometric mean kitchen PM{sub}10 concentrations were 1830 and 280μg/m{sup}3 and geometric mean home concentrations were 280 and440μg/m{sup}3 for the indoor and outdoor cooking villages, respectively. An analysis of pollutant concentrations using generalized estimating equation techniques showed significant effects of village (indoor cooking vs outdoor cooking) (p = 0.0244),location (home, kitchen) (p < 0.0001), and interaction of village and location (p < 0.0001) on log-transformed PM{sub}10 concentrations. Pollutant concentrations and activity pattern data were used to estimate total exposure using the indirect method ofexposure assessment. Daily exposure for women during the nonwork season was 15120 and 6240μg h{sup}-1 m{sup}-3 for the indoor and outdoor cooking villages, respectively. Differences in exposure to pollution between the villages were not as great as might be expected based on kitchen concentrations alone. This study underscores the importance of measuring pollutant concentrations in all microenvironments where people spend time and of shifting the focus of air pollution studies to include rural populations in developing countries.
展开▼
