Indoor Air Pollution Monitoring and Stove Efficiency Test – Experience of Practical

Action in Nepal

Min Bikram MallaPractical Action Nepal Office

(Secretariat, Indoor Air Pollution and Health Forum)

Practical Action’s view on stove standard (1)

Advocating for total energy access & minimum energy standards– Households, enterprises and community services have

sufficient access to the full range of energy supplies (electricity, cooking fuels and mechanical power)

– Minimum efficiency of improved solid fuel stoves to be 40% greater than a three-stone fire in terms of fuel use

– Annual mean concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) < 10 μg/m3 in households, with interim goals of 15 μg/m3, 25 μg/m3 and 35 μg/m3 (NIAQSG says 60 μg/m3)

– 1 kg woodfuel or 0.3 kg charcoal or 0.04 kg LPG or 0.2 litres of kerosene or biofuel per person per day, taking less than 30 minutes per household per day to obtain

(Since 2010 publishing ‘Poor People’s Energy Outlook – PPEO’ every year and raising these issues)

Practical Action’s view (2)

Need for Multi-Tier Measurement : The binary monitoring framework is not able to capture real energy access situation. Multi-tier framework is required for capturing the quantity and quality of energy access, as well as the efficiency, safety and convenience.

Our experience in NepalEmission testing

• Since 2001 measuring room concentration of pollutants (mainly CO and PM) and analyzing its impact on health

o Indoor Air Pollution Monitoring Protocols, Version 05.1, Indoor Air Pollution Team, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 1992-2005

o Tested smoke hoods at APROVECHO lab in 2008

• Woman’s personal exposure to air pollution monitoring (24 hrs )

Stove efficiency testing – with help of third party

• Controlled Cooking Tests (CCT) in field, CCT Version 2.0, Shell Foundation (by CRT/N)

• Water boiling test in lab and field

o At NAST’s lab - SCORE-1 stove, 2010

o In field - WBT v 3.0, Shell Foundation

Objective

• To check effectiveness of the intervention in achieving its intended impacts.

• To collect evidence on required changes/improvement

• Create knowledge products for;

• “Country package" for policy-makers describing availableinterventions, their effectiveness and lessons learned

• Targeted communities to help them to make informed decision.

• Do economic evaluation. Compare with other interventions.

Working Approach & testing

KNOWLEDGE

IMPACT

INFLUENCE

IAP monitoring, stove efficiency test, 2001 -

IAQSG ‘09

TEA, standard, multi-tier moni.

B/C analysis, health impact, training package

Paper, workshop, position paper, video

Baseline survey

12 month follow-up

6 month follow-up

Intervention group

Survey methods

Intervention

A before-and-after

intervention (baseline, follow-up) design was used to study the project impacts

Evaluation Areas

Pollution and exposure (kitchen CO & PM and exposure)

Technology performance.

Market development. Access to finance.

Adoption.

Health and safety including health cost, lung function test

Time and socioeconomic impacts.

Environmental impacts

Tested stoves

Tested stoves -

traditional

Indoor Air Quality Monitoring

EquipmentIAP meter from Aprovecho, USAFor PM2.5 and CO monitoring

GasBadge ProFor CO monitoring

Buck pump(personal air sampler)

Industrial Scientific T82 (‘Real time’ electronic monitor)

Spirometer2001 - 10

2011 Onwards

Locating the CO & PM monitor in the room

Without Intervention With Intervention

Indoor Air Pollution Level

Air quality in kitchen with a smoke hood + improved stove has CO level within WHO air quality standard but PM is still little higher.

Stove efficiency testing

1. Control Cooking Test (CCT) at Healthy Hoods project site in Gorkha district (by CRT/N)• Followed CCT Version 2.0• Sample: In 17 sampled households • Tested stoves: CRT Chitwan Model ICS -2PH; Chitwan Model ICS-

1PH; Rocket Stove FMC; Rocket Stove-PM; Rocket Stove FMB; ICS Mid Hill Design 2PH; Mid Hill Design ICS-1PH); Anagi Stove - Sri Lanka Model

• Limitation: Only one test per stove carried out instead of three repetitions

2. Water boiling test at field• At NAST’s lab - SCORE-1 stove• In field - WBT v 3.0, Shell Foundation

• Improved stoves with smoke hoods – with firewood• Traditional stoves in High and Mid Hills – with firewood• Traditional stoves in Terai – cow dung cake

Issues: Indoor air quality monitoring

• In addition to a stove different other factors might have effect on indoor air quality in kitchen which include quality of fuel, housing structure (size of the kitchen, ventilation), behavioural factors, family factors, weather factors and other sources of IAP like tobacco smoke, use of polluting fuel for lighting, etc.o Need large sample data and run multiple regression analysis to

estimate the marginal (net) effect of intervention Before-and-after design without control group is vulnerable to

changing events. Difficulty to find same households (who participated in baseline) for after intervention survey/monitoring o efforts made to find with similar socioeconomic characteristics,

household energy habits, age groups – used t-test to check

Issues: Challenges of field monitoring

Sampling error: Represent samples of ‘innovators and early adopters’ only who tend to be educated opinion leaders and comparatively better-off.

Issues (3)

About instrument: The data collected using Gravimetric methods – filter based techniques is more accurate but its processing time is very long, and need very skilled and unbiased person to handle it.

Efficiency of stove should be analyzed in economic term also (key factor for adoption). The rural households give different value to the saved time. They give higher value to morning time compared to rest of the time. Likewise, fuel processing time should also be considered in analysis.

Lesson Learnt and Conclusion Although having some issues, the field testing is also important:o The stove perform differently with different fuel

types/quality, type/size of pot used for cooking, cooking techniques and styles used by the cook based on their socio-cultural practice and awareness. Necessary to know the differences and use the information to improve the stove design to suit local needs.

o To check effectiveness of the intervention in real term in achieving its intended impacts (on health, time saving, environment etc.). Helps to determine real use air pollution level, fuel and time savings.

o Required to examine the user acceptance and usability of the stoves. Acceptance by users depend on efficiency of the stove on their daily use.

Need to introduce multi-tier monitoring framework in line with GACC ISO stove standard to record data

Need to agree on minimum national stove standards

THANK YOU min.malla@practicalaction.org.np www.practicalaction.org

Practical Action Nepal Programme on Indoor Air Pollution Alleviation

2001-04 Participatory technology development in Rasuwa district, Nepal Study on problem of indoor air pollution in rural high hills, Nepal

2005-07 Researching pathways to scaling up in Rasuwa (DFID, WHO support & Trust Fund support) Indoor Air Pollution and Health Forum formation (2005)Cost benefit analysis carried-out with SANDEE grant. Survey carried out in 400 HHs – pollution monitoring in 200 HHs).

2008-10 Expansion of project with USEPA/PCIA supportEndorsement of National indoor air quality standards and guidelines (2009) by Nepal Govt. Monitoring done in 150 HHs with SH.

2011-12: BSH, DEG support for optimization of the smoke hoods and scaling-up ; SWASTHA Project funded by EC. Monitoring done in 125 HHs with SH, 200 with ICS/rocket. Published a paper in Energy Policy by Elsevier, 2011