Cooking in India: The impact of improved stoves on indoor air quality

Cooking period kitchen concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) and exposure rates to total suspended particulates (TSP) experienced by household cooks were monitored in nearly 200 households in 13 villages in three regions of India. Roughly half used traditional open-combustion stoves and the other half used one of seven different kinds of improved stoves disseminated in these areas. In all cases except one, CO concentrations were significantly lower in kitchens using improved stoves, whether fitted with flues or not. Because of high sample variability, no conclusions could be drawn about the degree of TSP exposure rate improvement, if any, represented by three improved stoves. In the case of three other improved stoves with larger sample sizes, no significant differences were found. Only in one case, the combination of traditional stove with a fireplace-like hood, were TSP exposure rates significantly lower. There are a number of important lessons from this work to be considered in designing and conducting these kinds of field measurements in the future.