Particulate matter exposure during domestic work in Nepal

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Occupational Exposure
• Air Quality Monitoring

Background:

• Domestic work in Nepal, especially in rural areas, involves significant exposure to biomass smoke.
• Accurate measurement of indoor particulate matter (PM) is crucial for understanding health risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify particulate matter (PM) exposure for domestic workers in urban and rural Nepal.
• To evaluate the performance of photometric devices for PM measurement against gravimetric methods.
• To derive calibration factors for photometric devices used in biomass smoke-rich environments.

Main Methods:

• Respirable dust and PM2.5 levels were measured over 24-hour periods in 490 households in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley.
• Both photometric and gravimetric sampling methods were employed concurrently.
• Gravimetric data were used to establish calibration factors for the photometric devices.

Main Results:

• Average 24-hour respirable dust concentrations ranged from 13 to 2600 µg/m³ in rural settings and 3 to 110 µg/m³ in urban settings.
• Calibration factors were determined for SidePak (0.48-0.51) and DustTrak (0.31-0.35) devices to correct for biomass smoke characteristics.
• Photometric devices revealed distinct daily PM concentration peaks correlating with cooking times.

Conclusions:

• Domestic workers in rural Nepal experience average respirable dust levels around 1400 µg/m³, exceeding occupational exposure limits.
• High indoor PM exposure, primarily affecting women, poses a significant risk for respiratory illnesses.
• Implementing cleaner fuel types and flued stoves can effectively reduce these harmful exposures.