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Researchers investigated indoor carbon monoxide (CO) exposure in two neighbourhoods in Nairobi: an informal settlement and a more affluent residential area. To do this, they worked with local participants to gather data on household characteristics and used air quality monitors to assess exposure levels in a 24-hour period.
People working in poorly ventilated cooking areas are at a higher risk of dangerous carbon monoxide exposure.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is both odourless and colourless, making it an extremely dangerous pollutant: it is estimated that 29 000 people die each year due to CO poisoning. Incomplete combustion of fuels can lead to high concentrations of CO in poorly ventilated spaces; homes with simple stoves or open fires for cooking are especially susceptible to this potentially deadly issue.
During the Tupumue project, researchers investigated the severity of CO concentrations in homes in two Nairobi communities: the informal settlement of Mukuru and the more affluent Buruburu. Fieldworkers gathered data on households through questionnaires which included questions on household energy use, ventilation, proximity to traffic and whether or not smokers were present in the home, amongst other factors. Participating households were then given an air quality monitor which remained in the property and took measurements over a 24-hour period.
Researchers found that there were substantial concentrations of CO in the participating households. The data revealed that concentrations peaked at particular times of day, and the authors hypothesized that these peaks coincided with the preparation of dinner and breakfast, when stoves would be used.
The monitors also revealed that, during the 24-hour period, 50% of the homes had detectable CO concentrations for over 14 hours, and that nearly 1 in 10 households had measured a concentration that would activate a European CO-alarm. This indicates that there likely a considerable health burden from acute CO exposure and CO poisoning which is currently unquantified.
The authors called for urgent action: more research is needed into CO exposures in urban settings in sub-Saharan Africa, and more community education on household air pollution is required to help reduce exposure within the home.
Media coverage / SEI Africa contributes technical expertise to the deployment of air quality sensors around Nairobi, to monitor air pollution and green house gas emissions.
Media coverage / SEI Africa collaborates with UNEP and KMD to install air quality sensors in Kenya's capital, Nairobi and begin analysis of air pollution levels in the city
SEI report / This SEI report gives an overview about a participatory public health project conducted during the pandemic in an informal settlement of Nairobi.
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