A Comparative Study in Black Carbon Concentration and its Emission Sources in Tribal Area

In this study, we have assessed the concentrations of black carbon (BC) measured using Aethalometer during different cooking periods in five different types of kitchens and different fuels in the tribal villages of east India. The BC mass concentrations were 397.24 +/- 129.28, 403.49 +/- 204.02, 463.45 +/- 196.83, 458.77 +/- 181.81 and 445.43 +/- 193.67 mu gm(-3) for the indoor built kitchen (K1), indoor built kitchen but stoves situated in living area (K2), outside built kitchen (K3), semi-open kitchen (K4), and open cooking (K5), respectively. It is noted that the kitchen structure also significantly influences the accumulation of BC particles. During the whole study period, the maximum and minimum BC concentrations were 996.75 mu g m(-3) and 58.23 mu g m(-3), respectively. Maximum BC concentrations of 472.84 mu gm(-3) and minimum concentration of BC 402.11 mu gm(-3) were found on use of cow dung with paddy residue and wood as fuel, respectively. The result shows that the paddy residue emitted highest BC pollutants as compared to other fuel categories. We also studied the ambient BC concentration exposure for women living in villages. Despite no connection between study area and from industrial site, we observed a more tremendous amount of BC concentration. It shows that solid biomass fuel is responsible for increasing the concentrations level of BC in the atmosphere. The health risks were higher in K3 and K4 types of kitchens than in other types of kitchens. Our results indicate a requirement for a comprehensive study to thoroughly investigate the impact of household BC pollutants on the health risk assessments in the villages of east India.

Automated summary

In this study, the concentrations of black carbon (BC) measured using Aethalometer during different cooking periods in tribal villages of east India were assessed. The kitchen structure significantly influenced the accumulation of BC particles, with the highest BC pollutants emitted from paddy residue. The health risks were higher in certain types of kitchens.