[Stoves] The future of biomass stoves. was...Fwd: [stove and LF Annals] Historical watershed
Paul Anderson
psanders at ilstu.edu
Mon Nov 17 12:04:47 CST 2014
Stovers,
The message below from Dr. Kirk Smith's mailing list has not been
distributed to the Stoves Listserv. It is too important to overlook,
and merits our discussions.
He wrote:
> newer evidence since 2005 on the health effects of combustion air
> pollution, as for example found in the latest Global Burden of Disease
> estimates, would indicate that when the next revision of the AQGs is
> done (as now planned), the limits will become even lower. The stove
> community thus should probably therefore consider *_what this document
> recommends as likely to tighten further [emissons standards] over
> time._* (emphasis added)
In an earlier (Nov 6) message to the Stoves Listserv, this _comment by a
reviewer_ stated about Dr. Smith's work:
> IT MARKS A MAJOR SHIFT IN THINKING FROM IMPROVING COOK STOVES TO
> RECOGNIZING THAT TO GAIN THE POSITIVE HEALTH IMPACT STOVES HAVE TO BE
> CLEAN (GAS-LIKE), AND THAT PROBABLY THE ONLY WAY TO ACHIEVE THIS ON A
> MASS SCALE IS THROUGH LP GAS AND ELECTRICITY.
Holy Smokes!! Nobody even made a comment about this!! (I was on a
trip and am only replying now.) That is an endorsement of LP Gas and
electricity as "probably the only way" to get the emissions down low
enough. And nobody said anything??
If we do not discuss this, does that mean that we accept it? What
about these issues:
1. Probably biogas (from wet biomass) is sufficiently clean?
2. Can the TLUD and other gasifiers stoves make the cut-off because
they are gas-burning stoves that make their own gases, that is, they are
"gas-like" in operations? And funding to determine if this can happen?
3. Other technologies related to solid fuels for cooking, (including
coal as mentioned by Crispin in other messages)?
4. AND what about the socio-economic impracticality to expect that
impoverished people who depend on wood and other solid fuels will be
able to sustainably obtain LPG and electricity within multiple
generations? Move them up to the top of the energy ladder right away,
or simply neglect them for additional decades while the affluent world
decides what assistance is given to whom?
5. And a big issue: Are we making the many efforts for better
cookstoves ONLY because of health? What about deforestation and fuel
efficiency? and CO2 increases? and safety from burns? and
development of other biomass fuels / semi-processed biomass from
"refuse" and low-value stems, etc.?
6. Should the GACC and other organizations pull out of their support
for solid-fuel-stoves?
I am certain that Kirk Smith and the GACC and others have the best
interests of all in mind. But in light of the recent scientific and
health findings, what should be the future of biomass stoves?
I will contribute to this discussion as appropriate, but I am not going
to get into any individualized debates. So please direct your comments
to EVERYONE. Feel free to adjust the Subject line to reflect your
"flavor" of reply, because there are SOOOOO many different aspects to
the topics at hand, and we should soon have a few different threads of
messages.
And remember that this week, Thurs 20 Nov, is the big GACC meeting in
New York City. I have been assured by the organizers that it will have
live broadcast via Internet, so we can all listen to the high powered
presentations that day. Will any speaker comment on this latest
interpretation of what constitutes "sufficiently clean" regarding
cookstoves? And at the Friday private meeting for the pledging of
funding for further clean-cookstove efforts, will the funds flow for LPG
and electricity?
What is the future of biomass stoves?
Paul
Doc / Dr TLUD / Prof. Paul S. Anderson, PhD
Email: psanders at ilstu.edu
Skype: paultlud Phone: +1-309-452-7072
Website: www.drtlud.com
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [stove and LF Annals] Historical watershed
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 23:59:05 -0800
From: Kirk R. Smith <krksmith at berkeley.edu>
Reply-To: krksmith at berkeley.edu
To: Kirk R. Smith <Krksmith at berkeley.edu>
Beginning this week, for the first time in human history, it will no
longer be possible to claim a stove is truly "improved" or "clean"
without reference to authoritative global set of health-based guidelines..
*WHO GUIDELINES FOR INDOOR AIR QUALITY: HOUSEHOLD FUEL COMBUSTION, World
Health Organization, Geneva, 2014
*This is the third, and last currently planned, volume from WHO on IAQ,
the first two being on selected individual pollutants
http://www.who.int/indoorair/publications/9789289002134/en/
<http://www.who.int/indoorair/publications/9789289002134/en/> and
dampness and mold
http://www.who.int/indoorair/publications/7989289041683/en/
<http://www.who.int/indoorair/publications/7989289041683/en/>. This last
one is at http://www.who.int/indoorair/guidelines/hhfc/en/
<http://www.who.int/indoorair/guidelines/hhfc/en/> and also on my
website below. It is the result of 3+ years of work by an international
expert committee and many peer reviewers including a year-long internal
WHO process of quality checking and reframing to be consistent with
other WHO guideline documents,
This third volume is a bit different in its recommendations than most
other WHO guidelines in that it does not develop new
exposure/concentration guidelines for the critical pollutants
themselves, but takes these for CO from the previous IAQ document on
Selected Pollutants and for PM2.5 from the 2005 WHO Air Quality
Guidelines (AQGs) ---
http://www.who.int/phe/health_topics/outdoorair/outdoorair_aqg/en/ In
addition to extensive reviews of the literature, this new document
presents recommended guidelines for indoor*emissions *limits that will
keep a large fraction of households below the AQGs themselves for CO and
PM2.5. As there are wide ranges of household sizes, ventilation rates,
and cooking patterns, it specifies limits in a probabilistic manner
using a Monte Carlo model, e.g., to keep 90% of household below the AQG,
the emissions needs to be below X, for 50% they need to be below y.
Notably, this document formalizes what was only stated conceptually in
the 2005 AQGs, which is that the guidelines should apply in every
non-occupational micro-environment where people spend significant time
-- indoor or outdoor.
The document also addresses chimney stoves as well as having sections on
coal and kerosene as household fuels -- discouraging both because of
apparent extra toxicities.
The quantitative recommendations will be a challenge to the biomass
stove community in that, in keeping with the health evidence, truly low
emission rates of unvented stoves will be needed to protect health
adequately. We firmly hope that the ongoing process of creating stove
standards under the ISO process will adopt these recommendations, as was
agreed previously.. I might add in this context, that newer evidence
since 2005 on the health effects of combustion air pollution, as for
example found in the latest Global Burden of Disease estimates, would
indicate that when the next revision of the AQGs is done (as now
planned), the limits will become even lower. The stove community thus
should probably therefore consider what this document recommends as
likely to tighten further over time.
Congratulations to the whole expert group and particularly Nigel Bruce,
Heather Adair-Rohani, and Carlos Dora at WHO-Geneva for moving it
through from start to finish.. Best/k
Below is from the Executive Summary, the full version being in the
report and available separately on the WHO website
www.who.int/indoorair/guidelines/hhfc
<http://www.who.int/indoorair/guidelines/hhfc>
*Overview
*Almost 3 billion of the world?s poorest people still rely on solid
fuels (wood,
animal dung, charcoal, crop wastes and coal) burned in inefficient and
highly
polluting stoves for cooking and heating, currently resulting in some 4
million
premature deaths annually among children and adults from respiratory and
cardiovascular
diseases, and cancer. Together with widespread use of kerosene stoves
and lamps, these household energy practices also cause many deaths and
serious
injuries from scalds, burns and poisoning. The use of solid fuel for heating
in more developed countries is also common and contributes significantly
to air
pollution exposure. Air pollution from household fuel combustion is the most
important global environmental health risk today.
These new guidelines bring together the most recent evidence on fuel use,
emission and human exposure levels, health risks, intervention impacts
and policy
considerations, to provide practical recommendations to reduce this health
burden, which build on existing WHO air quality guidelines for specific
pollutants
(AQG). Implementation of these recommendations will also help secure
the additional benefits to society, development and the environment
including
climate that will result from wider access to clean, safe and efficient
household
energy.
Drawing on a broad range of newly commissioned, or recently published,
systematic reviews of the scientific literature, the guidelines apply
strict criteria
for assessing the quality of available evidence and the suitability for
developing
recommendations. Among the key findings is that for several important health
outcomes, including child acute respiratory infections, exposure to the key
pollutant fine particulate matter, or PM2.5 needs to be brought down to low
levels in order to gain most of the health benefit. The other main
finding is that
most of the solid fuel interventions promoted in recent years have not
even come
close to these levels when in everyday use, and there is a need for much
more
emphasis on accelerating access to clean household fuels.
The recommendations focus particular attention on reducing emissions of
pollutants as much as possible, while also recognizing the importance of
adequate
ventilation and information and support for households to ensure best use of
technologies and fuels. They encompass general considerations for
policy, a set
of four specific recommendations, and a good practice recommendation for
addressing both health and climate impacts. The general considerations
address
issues such as the need for community-wide action, as pollution from one
house
or other source affects neighbours, and vice-versa, and the fact that
safety of new
fuels and technologies cannot be assumed and must be assessed.
The specific recommendations address the following:
? Emission rate targets which specify the levels of emissions from household
energy fuels and technologies that pose minimal health risks, and which are
designed to guide assessment of how well various interventions can meet the
air quality concentrations specified in WHO guidelines;
? Policies for the period of transition from current practices to
community-wide
use of clean fuels and household energy technologies, recognizing that
intermediate
steps will be needed for some time to come among lower income and
more rural homes reliant on solid fuels;
? The need to avoid the use of unprocessed coal as a household fuel, in
light of
the specific health risks;
? The need to avoid the use of kerosene as a household fuel, in light of
concerns
about emissions and safety.
The good practice recommendation encourages policy makers to recognize
that many of the pollutants from household fuel combustion lead to both
health
risks and climate change.
The guidelines are targeted at public health policy-makers and specialists
working with the energy, environment and other sectors to develop and
implement
policy to reduce the adverse health impacts of household fuel combustion.
This publication is linked to ongoing work by WHO and its partners to
provide
technical support for implementation of the recommendations, as well as
monitoring progress and evaluating programme impacts, for example, through
the WHO database on household fuel combustion. Further details of the
guidance,
tools and other resources are available on the guidelines web pages:
*http://
* <http:///>*www.who.int/indoorair/guidelines/hhfc
<http://www.who.int/indoorair/guidelines/hhfc>*.
*Rationale for these guidelines
*Household air pollution (HAP) released by inefficient combustion of
solid fuels
for cooking and heating is currently responsible for the world?s largest
single
environmentally-related disease burden. It has been calculated that
household
air pollution released during cooking causes around 4 million premature
deaths
/(1, 2)/. WHO estimates that household air pollution caused 4.3 million
deaths in
2012 /(3). /A further 0.4 million deaths are linked to the contribution
HAP makes
to ambient (outdoor) air pollution /(2). /Added to this, but as yet not
quantified due
to lack of sufficient research and weaker evidence, are deaths and
disease from
HAP derived from heating and lighting.
Use of inefficient fuels for household heating, cooking and lighting
also puts
household members, particularly children, at high risk of being burned
(e.g. as
a result of falling into fires, spilled fuel, etc.) and poisoning
(caused by ingesting
kerosene). While HAP from household fuel combustion is less serious in more
developed countries, it remains an issue in settings where solid fuel
(mainly wood
and other biomass) and kerosene are used for heating.
T
o date, there have been no health-based guidelines with recommendations
for policy to address this issue. Growing recognition that access to modern
household energy is critical for the achievement of health, development
and environmental
(including climate) goals, has led to several ambitious United Nations
(UN) and government-led initiatives to secure universal access to modern
household
energy over the next 15?20 years.
Against this background, it is important to have guidelines available to
ensure
that the potentially large health benefits of investment in, and policy
for, household
energy are realized.
Kirk R. Smith, MPH, PhD
Professor of Global Environmental Health, University of California, Berkeley
(Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Chair (2013/14), Indian Institute of
Technology-Delhi)
Delhi cell: (91) 97-1641-6091 [note new number]
http://ehs.sph.berkeley.edu/krsmith/
<http://ehs.sph.berkeley.edu/krsmith/>
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