Abstract

Background: The use of biomass fuel is attributed to the increased level of household air pollution in Ethiopia. The measurement of exposure to household air pollution is an important factor to link with respiratory health among children and women. The measurement of particulate matter in households, however, is limited in Ethiopia.

Objective: This study aimed to measure PM_2.5 concentration in households in Addis Ababa.

Methods: The study was cross-sectional, involving 10 sub cities of Addis Ababa in July-Dec/2019. Sample size was calculated to obtain 150 households. Fifteen households were randomly selected in each sub cities from a source population that was used for Children’s Health Study for the GEOHealth project. The study used the gravimetric method involving a monitor called Ultra Particulate Matter Air Sample (UPAS) to measure PM_2.5 in a 24 hours sampling duration.  UPAS was located on a waistband that was worn by the child when he was at home. Data was entered in EPI Info V3.5 and analyzed using SPSS V 23.  Descriptive statistics and ANNOVA was used to describe the PM concentration.  P-Value <0.05 and 95% CI of parameters were used for statistical significance.

Results

The overall geometric mean (GSD) of PM_2.5 concentration was 102.7 (2.64) mg/m³ with a minimum and maximum concentrations of 10.4 and 1148.8 mg/m³, respectively. The mean concentration has greatly exceeded the WHO recommended value. The child sleeping place in a household greatly varied with PM_2.5 concentration (p=0.006). The concentration also varied with the interaction of biomass fuel and cooking place (p=0.010). There was an increased PM concentration in households with one room (116.4 mg/m³), cooking in the main house (122.5 mg/m³), using wood for cooking (123.7mg/m³), and with no window (162.2 mg/m³). Housing characteristics such as the number of rooms, family size, and type of stove and type of fuel were not able to show a difference in PM concentration independently.

Conclusion: The level of PM_2.5 concentration exceeded 4 times that of the WHO guideline. The use of biomass fuel in poorly ventilated cooking places varied by the extent of PM concentration. Exclusive use of separate cooking places accompanied with ventilation is highly recommended.

Key words: Household PM_2.5 concentration, UPAS, gravimetric method, Household Air pollution

Funding Sources: ThGEOHealth study was generously supported by NIH Fogarty International/USA and IDRC of CANADA.