| Abstract
| - Exposure to indoor air pollution from household energyuse depends on fuel, stove, housing characteristics, andstove use behavior. We monitored three important indoor airpollutantsrespirable particles (RPM), carbon monoxide(CO), and sulfur dioxide (SO2)for a total of 457 household-days in four poor provinces in China (Gansu, 129 household-days; Guizhou, 127 household-days; Inner Mongolia, 65household-days; and Shaanxi, 136 household-days), in twotime intervals during the heating season to investigatespatial and temporal patterns of pollution. The two provinceswhere biomass is the primary fuel (Inner Mongolia andGansu) had the highest RPM concentrations (719 μg/m3 inthe single cooking/living/bedroom in Inner Mongolia inDecember and 351−661 μg/m3 in different rooms and monthsin Gansu); lower RPM concentration were observed inthe primarily coal-burning provinces of Guizhou and Shaanxi(202−352 μg/m3 and 187−361 μg/m3 in different roomsand months in Guizhou and Shaanxi, respectively). InnerMongolia and Gansu also had higher CO concentrations (7.4ppm in the single cooking/living/bedroom in Inner Mongoliain December and 4.8−11.3 ppm in different rooms andmonths in Gansu). Among the two primarily coal-burningprovinces, Guizhou had lower concentrations of CO thanShaanxi (1.2−1.8 ppm in Guizhou vs 2.0−13.3 ppm in differentrooms and months in Shaanxi). In the two coal-burningprovinces, SO2 concentrations were substantially higher inShaanxi than in Guizhou. Relative concentrations indifferent rooms and provinces indicate that in the northernprovinces heating is an important source of exposure toindoor pollutants from energy use. Day-to-day variability ofconcentrations within individual households, althoughsubstantial, was smaller than variation across households.The implications of the findings for designing environmentalhealth interventions in each province are discussed.
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