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Effects of indoor air pollution on tribal community in rural India and health risk assessment due to domestic biomass burning: a realistic approach using the lung deposition model

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Abstract

Indoor air pollution from the combustion of biomass fuel and associated health risks is a critical issue in developing countries. Concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 are measured in Birbhum, West Bengal, during 2017–2018. PM2.5-bound elemental concentrations of twelve metals are determined in rural kitchens. The results showed higher toxicological risks in BMF (1.15) than the LPG users (0.14). The risk of non-carcinogenic exposure related with dermal contact and ingestion was observed in the acceptable limits (HQ < 1) for all age groups, and the risk associated with inhalation exposure from Cr, Ni, As, and Mn exceeded the acceptable limit. Results also suggest that carcinogenic risks from ingestion and dermal contact are within the acceptable limit (1 × 10−4–1 × 10−6) except Cr and As which were found to exceed the range. The deposition flux (Dφ) for multiple metals in the head airway region, tracheobronchial region, and alveolar regions was found to be higher in teenagers as compared to other groups, whereas the value was lower in infants. Further, it was notified from the Dφ that the metals could pass through the head airways and harm the tracheobronchial tree and alveolar region, increasing the risk of human health.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the studied households who gave their consent for the collection of indoor air quality data and filled the questionnaire form.

Funding

The fellowships were provided to one of the authors (MC) in the form of Junior Research Fellow (JRF) and Senior Research Fellow (SRF) by the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, New Delhi.

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  1. Department of Environmental Studies, Institute of Science (Siksha Bhavana), Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, – 731235, West Bengal, India

    Mallika Chowdhury, Suraj Ghosh & Pratap Kumar Padhy

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  1. Mallika Chowdhury
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  2. Suraj Ghosh
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  3. Pratap Kumar Padhy
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Contributions

(a) Mallika Chowdhury: She has undertaken this study; collected, analyzed, and interpreted the data; reviewed the literature; and wrote the draft MS. (b) Suraj Ghosh: He has helped in sampling and analyses of data. (c) Pratap Kumar Padhy: Prof. Padhy is the mentor of this research work. He guided other authors in data collection and analyses. He edited the final MS.

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Correspondence to Pratap Kumar Padhy.

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Ethics approval

Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee for Human Research, Visva-Bharati. Sampling was started after getting the permission from the Ethical Committee.

Consent to participate

Consent was obtained from the head of the households before the instrument was set up for monitoring household air pollution, and written consent was also taken before collection of any personal information from them.

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We give our consent for the publication of identifiable details, which can include tables and figures details within the text to be published in the Journal.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Chowdhury, M., Ghosh, S. & Padhy, P.K. Effects of indoor air pollution on tribal community in rural India and health risk assessment due to domestic biomass burning: a realistic approach using the lung deposition model. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 59606–59618 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19973-7

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