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Characterization of emissions from burning incense
James J Jetter1, Zhishi Guo, Jenia A McBrian
1US Environmental Protection Agency, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA. jetter.jim@epa.gov
The Science of the Total Environment
|August 21, 2002
Summary
Burning incense releases significant fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and gaseous pollutants, potentially exceeding air quality standards indoors. Incense smoke poses health risks due to inhalation exposure.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Air Quality Research
- Indoor Pollution Studies
Background:
- Incense burning is a common indoor activity with potential air quality implications.
- Limited data exists on the quantitative characterization of particulate matter and gaseous emissions from various incense types.
- Understanding these emissions is crucial for assessing indoor air quality and associated health risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively characterize particulate matter (PM) emissions from diverse incense types.
- To compare different measurement methods for incense emissions: cyclone/filter, electrical low pressure impactor (ELPI), and electrostatic precipitator (ESP).
- To evaluate the potential health risks associated with indoor air pollution from incense smoke.
Main Methods:
- Measured PM2.5 emission rates and factors for 23 incense types using a cyclone/filter method.
- Compared ELPI and ESP methods against the cyclone/filter method for emission rate determination.
- Analyzed particle size distributions using ELPI for various incense samples.
- Modeled indoor air quality concentrations for PM2.5 and gaseous pollutants (CO, NO, SO2) using an indoor air quality model.
Main Results:
- PM2.5 emission rates varied widely (7–202 mg/h), with emission factors ranging from 5–56 mg/g.
- ELPI consistently yielded lower emission rates than cyclone/filter, while ESP yielded higher rates, suggesting ESP's effectiveness for semivolatile particles.
- Particle size distributions were generally similar across incense types, with mass median diameters typically between 0.06–2.5 microm.
- Indoor air quality modeling indicated potential exceedance of US EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM2.5 and gaseous pollutants.
Conclusions:
- Incense burning is a significant source of indoor fine particulate matter, comparable to or exceeding other common indoor sources.
- Incense smoke can lead to indoor air pollutant concentrations that pose a health risk through inhalation.
- Gaseous emissions from incense can also exceed outdoor standards, particularly under conditions of heavy smoke production.