Indoor Biomass Burning and Health Consequences

Abstract

Inefficient cooking with biomass fuels in poorly ventilated homes is a major source of exposure to indoor air pollution in developing countries. Household air pollution from cooking and heating with biomass fuels also is an important contributor to outdoor air pollution. The combustion of wood and other biomass is qualitatively similar to the burning of tobacco in terms of emissions of particulate matter and gases, and the mechanisms by which biomass smoke causes adverse health effects in humans are likely similar to those involved in tobacco smoke-induced disease processes. The public health impact of domestic cooking with biomass is great. The 2010 Global Burden of Disease comparative risk assessment found household air pollution from solid fuel (biomass and coal) use to be responsible for approximately 4.8 % of the total disability-adjusted life years and 3.9 million premature deaths per year. Household air pollution ranked third on the examined list of risk factors globally and was the most important environmental risk factor. The estimates are based on the strength of the evidence, primarily meta-analyses of epidemiological studies of acceptable scientific quality, although for cardiovascular disease the evidence is more inferential. The greatest burden of household air pollution–related premature deaths is in children with pneumonia exposed to biomass smoke. The greatest burden in adults is for cardiovascular disease, but for non-smoking women, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an important cause of disability and death. Household air pollution also contributes to the burden of cataracts, the leading cause of blindness, and lung cancer, especially among women. Research gaps and opportunities for interventions to reduce impacts of biomass smoke on public health are identified.