MARIA PEREZ, EMMA HENEINE, CASEY MACDERMOD, NOOR TASNIM | Student Research Training ProgramDUKE GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE

A young girl in front of her family’s heating stove

METHODOLOGY• Visited 24 homes in six villages around Lake Atitlan in

Guatemala• Conducted interviews asking specific question about cooking

habits, bathing habits, and trash burning habits as well as gathered observational data such as type of stove, presence/absence of chimney, and wall material

• Used air quality monitors to test particulate matter and CO in the kitchens over a 24 hour period

• After conducting the research, organized community-centered talks in each community to give tips on how to reduce production and exposure to indoor air pollution

CONCLUSIONS• In 100% of the homes investigated, small and large

particulate matter reached unsafe levels within the 24 hour period.

• We found extraordinarily high levels of small particulate matter – an average of 90,000 particles per cubic ft/100.

• In 50% of homes, CO levels reached above the warning level during the 24 hour period.

• Future investigation is needed to study the health consequences of such high pollution levels.

OBJECTIVES• Assess the levels of large and

small particulate matter and carbon monoxide in kitchens over 24 hours

• Investigate cooking, bathing, and trash burning habits

• Inform community members of ways to reduce exposure to indoor air pollution

Project summary: Indoor air quality, cooking, and bathing habits were investigated in Indigenous Mayan households in six villages surrounding Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. Testing revealed that large and small particulate matter reached unsafe levels in 100% of the homes investigated while 50% had unsafe CO levels.Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

SRT Guatemala: Indoor Air Pollution

Our translator Micaela (right) and a participant after conducting an interview

Example graphs for levels of small and large particulate matter (left) and carbon monoxide (right) over 24 hours

Acknowledgements: This project would not have been possible without the support and guidance from Dr. David Boyd, Dr. Craig Sinkinson Micaela, Carolina, Mayan Medical Aid, the primary schools in the municipalities, and DGHI. Thanks to Bass Connections for additional support.

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