Black Carbon Concentration in Kitchens Using FireWood and Kerosene

Abstract: In this study, the magnitude of black carbon (BC) in the kitchen was quantified in giving a preliminary picture about its potential on human health burden. BC concentration was derived from PM10 measurements by means of Smoke Stain Reflectometer quantifying during cooking and off-cooking. Sampled households was characterized by two groups i.e use wood and kerosene fuel each of which had been measured during cooking and off-cooking. The result of the research showed that the kitchen use fire-wood fuel in cooking condition, BC concentration were in the range 35.25 ± 0,23 to 83,803 ± 0.37 µg m-3, while for off-cooking condition it showed 3.59 ± 0.06 to 8.98 ± 1.02 µg m-3. In contrast, lower BC concentration was performed in kitchens use kerosene fuel where for cooking condition which it reached up to 6,90 ± 0.06- 22,29 ± 0.46 µg m-3, and it exhibited only 2,32 ± 0.04- 5,74 ± 0.1 µg m-3 during off-cooking condition. The findings suggest black carbon concentration on average introduce high risk towards human health in cooking using fire-wood fuel