How Big is Small? Enough to not Breathe Oil! The Peruvian case of diesel-fuelled wick lamps for lighting

How big is small? Enough to not breathe oil! The Peruvian case of diesel-fuelled wick lamps for lighting

Presenter: Angel Verástegui Gubler, (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit – GIZ Energising Development Peru)

Rapporteur: Jonathan Lee and Carmen Iten

Overview

Health risks due to indoor air pollution (IAP) from inefficient domestic burning processes for cooking or lighting are not breaking news. The presence of high levels of sulfur dioxide in burnt wood emissions from traditional cookstoves; its remaining high levels in the air after two hours from turning off the source; and the fact that this gets even worse with an oil-fuelled wick lamp that pollutes almost the same as a second traditional cookstove in the same room for at least one hour each day for 20% of the world´s population, maybe are. This paper shows first evidence from Peru´s rural context in the simultaneous lack of modern energy devices for lighting and cooking.

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Main Issues Discussed

 There has been much research into kerosene wick lamps, but diesel wick lamps widely used in Peru
 PM 2.5, CO, and SO2 measured for cookstove burning only and cooking and lamps being used at the same time
 Concentration of PM 2.5 are orders of magnitude higher than WHO recommendation. SO2 is higher than WHO level, and CO does not present a significant cost
 A diesel wick lamp accounts for the pollution almost of a second cookstove
 There is residual higher than WHO level PM 2.5 and SO2 exposure for 2 hours

People are worried about the diesel smell in their house from the lamp (in contrast to the smoke from the cooking stove).

 Kerosene is forbidden in Peru because it is an ingredient of drugs.

 Double source of indoor air pollution (cooking stove and diesel lamp)

 Sulfur content over countries can vary.

 Particular Matter (PM) and SO2 are a problem, not CO and CO2.

 SO2 is even still too high after 2 hours.

 Weak lamps are mainly hand built and therefore don’t have standards. It is difficult to generalize the results.

Questions Posed

 Usage of light varies with region. In the Andes, heat is desirable so a greater demand for conventional fuel than in the Amazon region. The type of fuel used and prices depends a lot on supply chains for other uses, such as diesel for logging.
 Rural areas have higher demand for conventional fuel lighting. Alternatives are less available
 What needs to be changed in policy in Peru? Engineering projects have a focus on large scale, technological thinking. Energy access needs to be viewed as a health and social issue like water instead of purely technologically and economically?
 Were emissions measured or exposure? Exposure was indeed being measured. It is important to distinguish between the two.
 How does the residual exposure compare to the exposure before devices turned on? Pollutants were measured for 30 min before, showed levels lower than after
 How do other devices perform? Only two diesel wick lamps were tested. Are there other lamps that perform better or worse?

Background measurements were made half an hour before stove and/or lamp was lit.

 Differences between houses in the Andean and in the Amazon region: Houses in the Amazon region are airy but in the Andean you want to keep the heat from the stoves. The test house was a house as in the Andean.

 Market failure: The link with public health and lighting is not yet accepted. They think it is a problem which can wait.

Why is there sulfur in the wood?