Building Blocks to Health

In 2018, the World Health Organization published the book “Air pollution and child health: prescribing clean air”. The report concludes, “Every day around the world, billions of children are exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution. The result is a global public health emergency.” 

The WHO suggested “prescriptions” to clean the air and protect health:

1. Use clean household energy for cooking, heating, and lighting.
2. While waiting for clean to be available, use technologies and fuels that reduce exposure such as low-emission biomass cook stoves.
3. Minimize the time children spend around smoky fires.
4. Increase ventilation or install a chimney.

A combination of interventions is usually most cost effective. 

ONE

• Help to make clean burning stoves available.
• Promote solar lighting.

TWO

• Forced draft stoves can burn up a lot of the smoke.
• An adjustable Pot Skirt forces the hot gases to scrape against the sides of the pot as well as the bottom reducing fuel use by about one-third. That results in one-third fewer emissions!
• A light weight, abrasion resistant Rocket combustion chamber can burn up ~ 50% of smoke compared to the open fire. 
• Winiarski designed stovetops can increase heat transfer efficiency by ~8%.

THREE

• Promote reduction of exposure to family members, especially to women and children. 

FOUR

• Doubling the air change rate reduces smoke in half.
• Locate the fire under a window on the low pressure side of the house.
• Cook outside.
• Chimneys have been a part of traditional houses for centuries.
• Cook with a chimney!