Environment & Health Research Unit

Indoor Air Pollution

Contact: Brendon Barnes, M. Soc. Sc.
Halina Röllin, PhD

Approximately 75% of households in developing countries are reliant on biomass fuels such as wood, cow dung and crop residues, which when burned indoors, release high concentrations of pollutants such as carbon monoxide, particulate matter and other organic compounds into the living environment. Exposure to indoor air pollution has been associated with a number of health outcomes, most notably, Acute Lower Respiratory Infections (ALRI) such as pneumonia amongst children less than five years old. It is estimated that indoor air pollution exposure accounts for as much as 4-6% of the burden of disease in certain developing countries and 2 .7% of the global disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). When compared to similar environmental risks such as unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene (3.7% of DALYs) and outdoor air pollution (0.8% of DALYs), indoor air pollution represents a major public health challenge.

Despite widespread electrification, over half of South African households are still primarily dependant on solid fuels for cooking and space heating resulting in levels of indoor air quality that often exceed international guidelines. Moreover, ALRI accounts for approximately 14% of deaths amongst children less than five in South Africa and is ranked, together with diarrhoeal disease, as one of the top killers of young children.

Selected projects:

• The evaluation of a behavioural intervention to reduce child exposure to indoor air pollution in rural South Africa.
• A comparison of indoor air quality in electrified and un-electrified dwellings in rural South African dwellings.
• The environmental burden of disease related to indoor air pollution in South Africa.
• The evaluation of user-based interventions to reduce indoor air pollution exposure in urban contexts.

Indicative publications:

• Barnes, B. R., Mathee, A., Shafritz, L., Krieger, L., Sherburne, L. & Favin, M. (2004). Testing selected behaviours to reduce indoor air pollution exposure in young children. Health Education Research 19, 5, pp. 543-50.
• Barnes, B. R., Mathee, A., Shafritz, L., Krieger, L. & Zimicki, S. (2004). A behavioural intervention to reduce child exposure to indoor air pollution: Identifying possible target behaviours. Health Education and Behavior 31, 3, pp. 306-317.
• Röllin, H. R., Mathee, A., Bruce, N., Levin, J., von Schirnding, Y. E. R. (2004). Comparison of indoor air quality in electrified and un-electrified dwellings in rural South African villages. Indoor air, 14, 208-16.
• Ezzati, M., Bailis, R., Kammen, D., Holloway, T., Price, L., Cifuentes, L., Barnes, B. R., Chaurey, A., Dhanapala, K. (2004). Energy systems and population health. Annual Review of Environment and Resources (in press).