Indoor Air Pollution in Rumuewhera Community in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria

Indoor air pollution arising from the use of biomass fuel for cooking is a serious health issue in Nigeria especially in rural communities. This study investigated the levels of Carbon monoxide (CO), PM2.5 and PM10 released during morning and evening cooking sessions in 17 households in Rumuewhara community in Obio/Akpor LGA, Rivers State Nigeria. This was to ascertain indoor air pollution concentrations in rural households categorized in the terms of fuel type (Firewood, Kerosene and LPG) and kitchen configuration. In the morning cooking session, mean and standard deviation of CO, PM2.5 and PM10 concentration levels from households using LPG (8.78 + 5.20 ppm, 25.5 + 6.65 µg/m3 and 39.38 + 13.28 µg/m3) were observed as lower than those from other households using biomass fuels (36.78 + 19.44 ppm, 270.16 + 159.44 µg/m3 and 419.82 + 247.29 µg/m3 for firewood). The mean concentrations of CO, PM2.5 and PM10 during cooking sessions in firewood kitchens are clearly higher than the standard limits of WHO and Health Canada due to the fuel type, kitchen configuration and ventilation habit. With correlation coefficients, r = -0.537, P=.03; r = -0.583, P=.01 and r = -0.566, p=0.02; there is a statistically significant and strong negative correlation between Relative Humidity vs CO, PM2.5 and PM10 respectively. The use of biomass fuels for household cooking should be discouraged in favour of LPG or kerosene due to the high concentration of indoor air pollutants it generates. To reduce the effects of biomass fuels, well-positioned Chimneys should be incorporated into houses to limit the accumulation of indoor air pollutants in the cooking area.