Chimney stoves modestly improved indoor air quality measurements compared with traditional open fire stoves: results from a small-scale intervention study in ru

Background: Nearly half of the world’s population depends on biomass fuels to meet domestic energy needs, producing high levels of pollutants responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality. Aims: We compare carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM2.5) exposures and kitchen concentrations in households with study promoted intervention (OPTIMA-improved) stoves and control stoves in San MarcosProvince, Cajamarca Region, Peru. Methods: The study was embedded in a community-RCT carried out in the northern highland of Peru. We determined 48hr indoor air concentration levels of CO and PM2.5 in 93 kitchen environments and personal exposure, after OPTIMA-improved stoves had been installed for an average of seven months.We used Draeger Pac III datalogger to measure real-time CO and particle-size-selective Triplex Cyclones to measure 48hr time-integrated PM2.5 measurements. Housing characteristics and stoves’ functionality were assessed through questionnaires and participatory observations.Results: PM2.5...