National Workshop on Standards and Testing of Cookstoves in Nepal 25 July 2013 Hotel Himalaya Presenter: Min Bikram Malla

1. Indoor Air Pollution Monitoring and Stove
Efficiency Test – Experience of Practical
Action in Nepal
Min Bikram Malla
Practical Action Nepal Office
(Secretariat, Indoor Air Pollution and Health Forum)

2. Practical Action’s view on
stove standard (1)
 Advocating for total energy access & minimum energy standards
– Households, enterprises and community services have sufficient
access to the full range of energy supplies (electricity, cooking
fuels and mechanical power)
– Minimum efficiency of improved solid fuel stoves to be 40%
greater than a three-stone fire in terms of fuel use
– Annual mean concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) < 10
μg/m3 in households, with interim goals of 15 μg/m3, 25 μg/m3
and 35 μg/m3 (NIAQSG says 60 μg/m3)
– 1 kg woodfuel or 0.3 kg charcoal or 0.04 kg LPG or 0.2 litres of
kerosene or biofuel per person per day, taking less than 30
minutes per household per day to obtain
(Since 2010 publishing ‘Poor People’s Energy Outlook – PPEO’ every
year and raising these issues)

3. Practical Action’s view (2)
 Need for Multi-Tier Measurement : The binary monitoring framework
is not able to capture real energy access situation. Multi-tier
framework is required for capturing the quantity and quality of
energy access, as well as the efficiency, safety and convenience.

4. Our experience in Nepal
Emission testing
• Since 2001 measuring room concentration of pollutants (mainly CO
and PM) and analyzing its impact on health
o Indoor Air Pollution Monitoring Protocols, Version 05.1, Indoor
Air Pollution Team, School of Public Health, University of
California, Berkeley, 1992-2005
o Tested smoke hoods at APROVECHO lab in 2008
• Woman’s personal exposure to air pollution monitoring (24 hrs )
Stove efficiency testing – with help of third party
• Controlled Cooking Tests (CCT) in field, CCT Version 2.0, Shell
Foundation (by CRT/N)
• Water boiling test in lab and field
o At NAST’s lab - SCORE-1 stove, 2010
o In field - WBT v 3.0, Shell Foundation

5. Objective
• To check effectiveness of the intervention in achieving its
intended impacts.
• To collect evidence on required changes/improvement
• Create knowledge products for;
• “Country package" for policy-makers describing available
interventions, their effectiveness and lessons learned
• Targeted communities to help them to make informed
decision.
• Do economic evaluation. Compare with other interventions.

6. Working Approach & testing
KNOWLEDGE
IMPACT
INFLUENCE
IAP monitoring,
stove efficiency
test, 2001 -
IAQSG ‘09
TEA, standard,
multi-tier
moni.
B/C
analysis, health
impact, training
package
Paper, workshop, p
osition paper, video

7. Baseline
survey
12 month
follow-up
6 month
follow-up
Intervention group
Survey methods
Intervention
A before-and-after
intervention
(baseline, follow-
up) design was used to
study the project impacts

8. Evaluation Areas
 Pollution and exposure (kitchen CO & PM and
exposure)
 Technology performance.
 Market development. Access to finance.
 Adoption.
 Health and safety including health cost, lung function
test
 Time and socioeconomic impacts.
 Environmental impacts

9. Tested stoves

10. Tested stoves -
traditional

11. Indoor Air Quality
Monitoring

12. Equipment
IAP meter from
Aprovecho, USA
For PM2.5 and CO
monitoring
GasBadge Pro
For CO monitoring
Buck pump
(personal air
sampler)
Industrial Scientific
T82 (‘Real time’
electronic monitor)
Spirometer
2001 - 10
2011
Onwards

13. Locating the CO & PM
monitor in the room

14. PM filters from kitchen
(collected using Buck air pump)
Without Intervention With Intervention

15. Indoor Air Pollution Level
Air quality in kitchen with a smoke hood + improved stove has CO level
within WHO air quality standard but PM is still little higher.

16. Stove efficiency testing
1. Control Cooking Test (CCT) at Healthy Hoods project site in Gorkha
district (by CRT/N)
• Followed CCT Version 2.0
• Sample: In 17 sampled households
• Tested stoves: CRT Chitwan Model ICS -2PH; Chitwan Model ICS-
1PH; Rocket Stove FMC; Rocket Stove-PM; Rocket Stove FMB; ICS Mid
Hill Design 2PH; Mid Hill Design ICS-1PH); Anagi Stove - Sri Lanka
Model
• Limitation: Only one test per stove carried out instead of three
repetitions
2. Water boiling test at field
• At NAST’s lab - SCORE-1 stove
• In field - WBT v 3.0, Shell Foundation
• Improved stoves with smoke hoods – with firewood
• Traditional stoves in High and Mid Hills – with firewood
• Traditional stoves in Terai – cow dung cake

17. Issues: Indoor air quality
monitoring
• In addition to a stove different other factors might have effect on
indoor air quality in kitchen which include quality of fuel, housing
structure (size of the kitchen, ventilation), behavioural factors,
family factors, weather factors and other sources of IAP like
tobacco smoke, use of polluting fuel for lighting, etc.
o Need large sample data and run multiple regression analysis to
estimate the marginal (net) effect of intervention
 Before-and-after design without control group is vulnerable to
changing events. Difficulty to find same households (who
participated in baseline) for after intervention survey/monitoring
o efforts made to find with similar socioeconomic characteristics,
household energy habits, age groups – used t-test to check

18. Issues: Challenges of field
monitoring
 Sampling error: Represent samples of ‘innovators and early
adopters’ only who tend to be educated opinion leaders and
comparatively better-off.

19. Issues (3)
 About instrument: The data collected using Gravimetric methods –
filter based techniques is more accurate but its processing time is
very long, and need very skilled and unbiased person to handle it.
 Efficiency of stove should be analyzed in economic term also (key
factor for adoption). The rural households give different value to the
saved time. They give higher value to morning time compared to
rest of the time. Likewise, fuel processing time should also be
considered in analysis.

20. Lesson Learnt and Conclusion
 Although having some issues, the field testing is also important:
o The stove perform differently with different fuel
types/quality, type/size of pot used for cooking, cooking
techniques and styles used by the cook based on their socio-
cultural practice and awareness. Necessary to know the
differences and use the information to improve the stove
design to suit local needs.
o To check effectiveness of the intervention in real term in
achieving its intended impacts (on health, time saving,
environment etc.). Helps to determine real use air pollution
level, fuel and time savings.
o Required to examine the user acceptance and usability of the
stoves. Acceptance by users depend on efficiency of the stove
on their daily use.
 Need to introduce multi-tier monitoring framework in line with
GACC ISO stove standard to record data
 Need to agree on minimum national stove standards

21. THANK YOU
 min.malla@practicalaction.org.np
 www.practicalaction.org

22. Practical Action Nepal Programme on
Indoor Air Pollution Alleviation
2001-04 Participatory technology development in Rasuwa
district, Nepal
Study on problem of indoor air pollution in rural high hills, Nepal
2005-07 Researching pathways to scaling up in Rasuwa
(DFID, WHO support & Trust Fund support)
Indoor Air Pollution and Health Forum formation (2005)
Cost benefit analysis carried-out with SANDEE grant. Survey
carried out in 400 HHs – pollution monitoring in 200 HHs).
2008-10 Expansion of project with USEPA/PCIA support
Endorsement of National indoor air quality standards and
guidelines (2009) by Nepal Govt.
Monitoring done in 150 HHs with SH.
2011-12: BSH, DEG support for optimization of the smoke hoods
and scaling-up ; SWASTHA Project funded by EC.
Monitoring done in 125 HHs with SH, 200 with ICS/rocket.
Published a paper in Energy Policy by Elsevier, 2011