London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Mission
The Public & Environmental Health Research Unit (PEHRU) is a unit in the Department of Public Health and Policy, whose work focuses on the social and environmental determinants of health and the evaluation and analysis of public health policy. Work on human exposure to indoor air pollution includes quantitative exposure assessments, modeling and health impact assessments. PEHRU's research programme includes work in both high and low income countries.
Organization Type	Academia

Contact Information

Primary Contact	Dr. Sotiris Vardoulakis	Secondary Contact	Ms. Caroline Ochieng
Address	Public & Environmental Health Research Unit (PEHRU) London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine London, Keppel Street WC1E 7HT United Kingdom	Website	www.lshtm.ac.uk/pehru/
		Phone	+44 20 7927 2442
		Fax	+44 20 7580 4524
		Calling/Fax Instructions

Our Focus

Primary Initiatives, Target Populations, and Scope of Work:
We are members of PUrE Intrawise Consortium, whose overall aim is to develop an integrated decision-support framework for more sustainable management of indoor pollution associated with the provision, conservation and use of energy in buildings. The framework will be applied to a number of case studies that will compare environmental, health and economic implications of the principal options for future home energy provision as an aid to policy development. We are also planning to undertake air quality monitoring in Kenya and Ghana, which will entail assessment of personal exposures to pollutants from biomass smoke, and development and validation of an integrated exposure model. The study also aims to validate the use of proxy measures of air pollution such as carbon-monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. We have conducted similar work in Europe.
Fuels/Technologies:	Biomass Hydroelectric Kerosene Liquid Petroleum Gas	Sectors of Experience:	Environment Health

Our Experience And Interest In The Four PCIA Central Focus Areas

Social/Cultural barriers to using traditional fuels and stoves:

This is an area we wish to explore in our future work.

Market development for improved cooking technologies:

No input

Technology standardization for cooking, heating and ventilation:

No input

Indoor air pollution exposure and health monitoring:

The planned study will entail pollutant sampling in kitchens where biomass fuels are used, and exposure assessments using personal monitors and time-activity models. It aims at developing a model that can be used for mapping out exposures in the future. We have previously conducted personal exposure assessments to air pollutants in Europe using NO2 diffusive samplers, although focusing on outdoor sources.
A previous study in Kenya entailed assessment of exposure to pollution from biomass fuels, using fuel type as an indicator of exposure, and related this to respiratory health outcomes in workers in food catering enterprises.

Relevant Publications or Studies

VardoulakisS., Chalabi Z., Fletcher T., Grundy C., Leonardi G.S., 2008. Impact and uncertainty of a traffic management intervention: Population exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. The Science of the Total Environment 394, 244-251.
VardoulakisS., Kassomenos P., 2008. Sources and factors affecting PM10 levels in two European cities: Implications for local air quality management. Atmospheric Environment 42, 3949-3963.
VardoulakisS., Valiantis M., Milner J., ApSimon H., 2007. Operational air pollution modelling in the UK– street canyon applications and challenges. Atmospheric Environment 41, 4622–4637.
VardoulakisS., Gonzalez-Flesca N., Fisher B.E.A., Pericleous K., 2005. Spatial variability of air pollution in the vicinity of a permanent monitoring station in central Paris. Atmospheric Environment 39, 2725–2736.
VardoulakisS., Fisher B.E.A., Pericleous K., Gonzalez-Flesca N., 2003. Modelling air quality in street canyons: a review. Atmospheric Environment 37, 155-182.
VardoulakisS., Fisher B.E.A., Gonzalez-Flesca N., Pericleous K., 2002. Model sensitivity and uncertainty analysis using roadside air quality measurements. Atmospheric Environment 36, 2121-2134.
VardoulakisS., Gonzalez-Flesca N., Fisher B.E.A., 2002. Assessment of traffic-related air pollution in two street canyons in Paris: Implications for exposure studies. Atmospheric Environment 36, 1025-1039.
Ochieng, C. A. (2007). Impact of use of biofuels on respiratory health of workers in food
catering enterpises in Nairobi. MSc. Thesis, Kenyatta University.

Our Contribution to the Partnership

We wish to share knowledge on air pollution exposure monitoring, learn from the experience of other partners who have monitored pollution from cooking practices and their health impacts, and possibly collaborate in future projects.

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