Respiratory symptoms of vendors in an open-air hawker center in brunei darussalam

Evaluating the properties that affect the quality of the charcoal product, determining the limits of toxic emissions during combustion, and studying their impact on human health

This research focuses on examining the potential impact of charcoal briquettes and lumps on human health due to the emissions they release, and verifying their quality standards. Quality assessment was conducted using a device capable of measuring toxic gases to identify contaminants from various sources such as biomass, synthetic resins, coal, metals, and mineral matter. Toxicity assessments were carried out on five types of briquettes and two varieties of lump charcoal. All charcoal samples were subjected to elemental analysis (SEM/EDAX), including the examination of Ca, Al, Cr, V, Cu, Fe, S, Sr, Si, Ba, Pb, P, Mn, Rb, K, Ti, and Zn. The results showed that burning lump charcoal had toxicity indexes ranging from 2.5 to 5, primarily due to NOx emissions. Briquettes, on the other hand, exhibited higher toxicity indices between 3.5 and 6.0, with CO2 being the main contributor to toxicity. The average 24-h CO content of all charcoal samples exceeded the World Health Organization's 24-h Air Quality Guideline of 6.34 ppm, with a measurement of 37 ppm. The data indicates that most of the products tested did not meet the prevailing quality standard (EN 1860-2:2005 (E) in Appliances, solid fuels and firelighters for barbecuing-Part 2: Barbecue charcoal and barbecue charcoal briquettes-Requirements and test method, 2005), which specifies a maximum of 1% contaminants, with some products containing as much as 21% impurities. The SEM analysis revealed irregularly shaped grains with an uneven distribution of particles, and the average particle size distribution is quite broad at 5 μm. Malaysia Charcoal had the highest calorific value at 32.80 MJ/Kg, with the value being influenced by the fixed carbon content-higher carbon content resulting in a higher calorific value.

Health risks associated with the production and usage of charcoal: a systematic review

Charcoal production and utilisation are linked to various health issues and occupational hazards. However, to our knowledge, no systematic review has primarily focused on the health implications of charcoal production and its use while distinguishing charcoal from other solid fuels such as wood and coal.

OBJECTIVES

This systematic review presents a synthesis of the evidence on the health risks associated with producing and using charcoal across the world.

DESIGN

Systematic review using a systematic narrative synthesis approach.

DATA SOURCES

MEDLINE (through Ovid interface), CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library and SCOPUS, from inception to 26 February 2021.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES

Peer-reviewed journal articles reporting empirical findings on the associations between charcoal usage/production and health parameters.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed the quality of primary studies.

RESULTS

Our findings showed that charcoal production and usage are linked with specific adverse health outcomes, including respiratory diseases (n=21), cardiorespiratory and neurological diseases (n=1), cancer (n=3), DNA damage (n=3), carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning (n=2), physical injury (n=2), sick house syndrome (n=1), unintentional weight loss and body mass index (BMI) reduction (n=2), increase in blood pressure (n=1) and CO death (n=1). Among the included articles that reported respiratory diseases (n=21), there was one case of asthma and tuberculosis and two cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

CONCLUSIONS

This review links charcoal production/usage and some associated human health risks. These include respiratory diseases and other non-respiratory illnesses such as sick-building syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, DNA damage, CO poisoning and death, unintentional weight loss and BMI reduction, and physical injuries.

Health Risk Assessment of Informal Food Vendors: A Comparative Study in Johannesburg, South Africa

According to the best of our knowledge, there are no critical studies to date about associations between the work environment and prevalence of respiratory diseases and their symptoms among urban informal vendors in South Africa. This study followed a risk assessment methodology to assess the risks associated with the occurrence of respiratory health problems among 617 indoor and outdoor market vendors in the inner city of Johannesburg, South Africa. A walkthrough survey using a checklist was conducted in 16 Markets for identification of respiratory risk factors and description of sanitary conditions. Face-to-face interviews were conducted amongst informal food vendors using a previously validated questionnaire to collect information on demographics and occupational and respiratory health. In addition, a single day area air pollution monitoring of PM_2.5, SO₂, NO₂, CO, and CO₂ was conducted in two stalls (indoor and outdoor). The Chi-squared test of association and frequency distribution were used to analyse data. Female vendors aged between 30 to 39 years dominated the trade. The results revealed that a majority of the vendors' work shifts are longer than the recommended eight hours per day (73%), six to seven days per week (90%), and most of them have been working for six to ten years (41%). Poor sanitary conditions were observed in 75% of the markets. The concentrations of air pollutants at the outdoor markets were much greater than those in the indoor markets. All air pollution concentrations were below the recommended national and international standards. The risk of outdoor vendors developing any symptoms were extremely greater than those of indoor vendors, especially cooking vendors. Upper respiratory symptoms were the highest amongst the vendors. The results demonstrated a significant association between work-related risk factors, such as type of work location, duration, type of cooking fuel or heat, vendor training, frequency of hand hygiene practice, and using of a mask, and the upper respiratory symptoms. Based on the findings, there is a need for formalization of the trade, improvement in infrastructure, respiratory health care assessments, and sustainable educational programs.

Analytical data on respiratory symptoms and pulmonary impairments due to exposure to non-combusted liquefied petroleum gas

The article is aimed at assessing the effects of chronic exposure to non-combusted LPG on the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and appraising the potential pulmonary impairments among LPG vendors. A case control design in which vendors and non-vendors of LPG from Calabar, Nigeria were used for the data collection. Seventy five (75) apparently healthy LPG vendors and Seventy five (75) apparently healthy non LPG vendors, aged 18 to 50 years were considered. A structured questionnaire was randomly administered to the participants to obtain information on age, family history, medical history, physical lifestyle, drug usage, occupation and duration on the job. The Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁), forced vital capacity (FVC) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were obtained using a Spirometer while FEV₁/FVC was calculated. Independent t-test was applied to determine the mean difference between the exposed and control groups at 5% level of significance. Chi-square test/Fisher's exact test was used to investigate all forms of associations in the study. It is evident in the data that nasal irritation/sneezing and cough were significantly associated with the LPG vendors. The pulmonary function parameters except FEV₁/FVC indicated significant reduction among LPG vendors. The data can further be reused by applying regression analysis, correlation analysis to determine the relationship between pulmonary function indices and duration of exposure. Also, analysis of variance (ANOVA) can be used for determining the effect of interaction between age of exposed group and duration of exposure on pulmonary function parameters.