Causative Factors of Indoor Air Pollution in Nigerian Households
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Air pollution is one of the leading causes of human
mortality in the world. Within a space of one year, 396,000 deaths
arising from indoor air pollution (IAP) in sub-Sahara Africa was
reported in 2006. Besides the loss of human lives, public health
challenges such as pneumonia in children, asthma, tuberculosis,
upper airway cancer and cataract are caused or aggravated by
IAP. A study was conducted among households in Lagos and
Ogun States in order to determine risk patterns of IAP among
residents through the distribution of questionnaires to 2000
households. Random sampling was adopted in the distribution of
the questionnaires. A total of 1,616 responses (81% return rate)
was achieved. Questions addressed include type of building,
smoking habits of residents, use and location of electricity
generating sets, location of cooking, cooking methods and use of
alternative lighting system in the event of power failure. Results
indicate that 62.2% of the residents lived in buildings where some
form of commercial activities are taking place. Also, 6.4% of the
residents admitted to smoking within living quarters, 9.2% used
electricity generators within the building confines; about 35.2%
used kerosene stoves for cooking; and 4% of the respondents
cooked in kitchens where there was no proper ventilation. 18.3%
of the respondents used candle for lighting in closed rooms while
14.4% used palm oil lit lamps. It was concluded that the use of
IAP enhancing methods of illumination and cooking within the
households were informed by poverty, poor ventilation within
households, security related issues. The enforcement of building
codes and environmental regulations could forestall avoidable
deaths in future
Keywords
TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)