Estimating personal exposures to household air pollution and plastic garbage burning among adolescent girls in Jalapa, Guatemala

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) Vol. 348; p. 140705
• Main Authors: Kearns, Katherine A., Naeher, Luke P., McCracken, John P., Boyd Barr, Dana, Saikawa, Eri, Hengstermann, Mayari, Mollinedo, Erick, Panuwet, Parinya, Yakimavets, Volha, Lee, Grace E., Thompson, Lisa M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2024; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescent; Air Pollution - analysis; Air Pollution, Indoor - analysis; Biomarkers; Biomonitoring; Cooking; Endocrine disrupting compounds; Exposure assessment; Female; Guatemala; Household air pollution; Humans; Nutrition Surveys; Particulate Matter - analysis; Plastic pollution; Rural Population; Soot; Guatemala; Biomonitoring; Endocrine disrupting compounds; Household air pollution; Exposure assessment; Plastic pollution
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140705

Waste collection services are uncommon in rural areas of low-resource countries, causing waste accumulation and subsequent dumping and burning of garbage. Air pollution from household garbage burning, including plastics, has been observed in Jalapa, Guatemala in addition to household air pollution (HAP) from cooking. Adolescent girls often help with these cooking and household tasks, but little is known about their exposures. We characterized 24-h exposures to HAP and household garbage burning in adolescent girls by measuring fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), urinary biomarkers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), bisphenol A (BPA), and phthalates. We recruited 60 girls between 13 and 17 years of age who helped with cooking activities and lived with participants of the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial. We recruited n = 30 girls each from the control (wood-burning stove) and intervention (liquefied petroleum gas stove) arms. We also measured real-time kitchen concentrations of BC in 20 homes (33%). PM2.5 and BC were measured in n = 21 control and n = 20 intervention participants. Median concentrations of personal PM2.5 and BC and kitchen BC were lower (p < 0.05) in the intervention arm by 87%, 80%, and 85%, respectively. PAH metabolite concentrations were lower (p < 0.001) for all nine metabolites in intervention (n = 26) compared to control participants (n = 29). Urinary BPA concentrations were 66% higher in participants who reported using cosmetics (p = 0.02), and phthalate concentrations were 63% higher in participants who had reported using hair products during the sample period (p = 0.05). Our results suggest that gas stoves can reduce HAP exposures among adolescents who are not primary cooks at home. Biomarkers of plastic exposure were not associated with intervention status, but some were elevated compared to age- and sex-matched participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). [Display omitted] •Household garbage burning common waste disposal method in Jalapa, Guatemala.•Plastic waste presents opportunity for chemical exposures in adolescent girls.•Urinary biomarkers elevated in participants in Jalapa compared to U.S. survey.•Few studies report pollutant exposures in adolescents in low-resource settings.