Indoor air pollution: Assessment of selected environmental parameters at a rural village in Nigeria

A pilot study was conducted to assess indoor air quality parameters at ten homes in a rural Nigerian village. Eighty percent of the homes included in the study used firewood while two used kerosene stove for cooking. More than half a billion people, representing 78% of Africans continue to cook with solid fuels in households with poorly designed and maintained kitchens. According to the World Health Organization, indoor air pollution from solid fuel use accounts for over one third deaths in children and women are disproportionately impacted with higher cardiovascular and respiratory problems. At each home, measurements were made with real-time air quality monitoring instruments in three indoor (and one outdoor) locations. Measured parameters included temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter (~PM_0.3 – PM_5.0). Preliminary results showed high average levels of comfort parameters, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Measured carbon dioxide differential (indoor minus outdoor) levels ranged from 110 to 839 ppm with a peak of 2,040 ppm (compared with ≤700 ppm recommended by ASHRAE). Peak carbon monoxide was 138 ppm and average airborne particle number concentrations ranged from 129,300 to 579, 200 particles/m3 in the bedroom and kitchen, respectively (~30 times higher than outdoors). The highest levels of all measured parameters were recorded in the kitchen during firewood combustion. The results highlighted the need to address important environmental health determinants in rural communities in Nigeria with a view to developing educational programs and ultimately improving indoor air quality to protect the affected vulnerable populations.