Household air pollution and personal inhalation exposure to particles (TSP/PM_2.5/PM_1.0/PM_0.25) in rural Shanxi, North China

Personal exposure to size-segregated particles among rural residents in Shanxi, China in summer, 2011 were investigated using portable carried samplers (N = 84). Household air pollution was simultaneously studied using stationary samplers in nine homes. Information on household fuel types, cooking activity, smoking behavior, kitchen ventilation conditions etc., were also collected and discussed. The study found that even in the summer period, the daily average concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM_1.0 in the kitchen were as high as 376 ± 573 and 288 ± 397 μg/m³ (N = 6), that were nearly 3 times of 114 ± 81 and 97 ± 77 μg/m³ in the bedroom (N = 8), and significantly higher than those of 64 ± 28 and 47 ± 21 μg/m³ in the outdoor air (N = 6). The personal daily exposure to PM_2.5 and PM_1.0 were 98 ± 52 and 77 ± 47 μg/m³, respectively, that were lower than the concentrations in the kitchen but higher than the outdoor levels. The mass fractions of PM_2.5 in TSP were 90%, 72%, 65% and 68% on average in the kitchen, bedroom, outdoor air and personal inhalation exposure, respectively, and moreover, a majority of particles in PM_2.5 had diameters less than 1.0 μm. Calculated time-weighted average exposure based on indoor and outdoor air concentrations and time spent indoor and outdoor were positively correlated but, was ∼33% lower than the directly measured exposure. The daily exposure among those burning traditional solid fuels could be lower by ∼41% if the kitchen was equipped with an outdoor chimney, but was still 8–14% higher than those household using cleaning energies, like electricity and gas. With a ventilator in the kitchen, the exposure among the population using clean energies could be further reduced by 10–24%.