Despite the fact that the knowledge that air pollution promotes adverse health effects is not new, studies on pollution derived from indoor sources has received considerably less attention, mostly because its effects are less evident in areas where ‘‘hard science’’ is produced. In this study, the health consequences of prolonged exposure to indoor pollution generated by biomass-burning stoves are summarised. This kind of exposure is associated with respiratory, cardiovascular, reproductive and cancer outcomes. Considering that the use of biomass as fuel for cooking is almost entirely restricted to developing countries, some projections on the costs due to health consequences of this practice indicate that procedures must be implemented not only to avoid suffering caused to the population but also to remove the extra burden on frail economies.

Paulo Hilário Nascimento Saldiva
Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo,
Av. Dr. Arnaldo 455 CEP 01246-903, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
E-mail: pepino@usp.br

Simone Georges El Khouri Miraglia
School of Environmental Engineering, University São Marcos, São Paulo, and Laboratory of Experimental Air
Pollution, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Joaquim de Almeida 55 # 71
CEP04050-010, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Health effects of cookstove emissions [.pdf, 153.3Kb]