Health risks of using briquettes<\/p>\n
Igor O'Neill, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Oct. 7 announced the
\ngovernment's plan to spend Rp 150 billion (US$15 million) to buy
\n10 million coal stoves as a part of the government efforts to
\ndiversify energy resources and to reduce the costly subsidy for
\nkerosene.<\/p>\n
Such a move is at odds with research-based public health
\ninitiatives such as the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air,
\ndiscussed here in Indonesia during the preparatory conference for
\nthe World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. The
\ninitiative addresses the increased environmental health risk
\nfaced by more than two billion people in the developing world who
\nburn solid fuels indoors.<\/p>\n
According to the World Health Organization, exposure to indoor
\ncooking with solid fuels results in an estimated 1.6 million
\npremature deaths each year, largely among women who do most
\ncooking, and children who are at increased risk of death by
\nrespiratory infection.<\/p>\n
Poor ventilation is a key factor increasing the health risk
\nfrom cooking with coal briquettes. Many households in Indonesia
\nmake do without stovetop hoods or a proper chimney designed to
\ncreate a draft to draw cooking fumes upwards and out of the
\nkitchen.<\/p>\n
Homes with chimneys or hoods still experience some risk as
\nshown in a carefully controlled study Lung Cancer and Indoor
\nPollution from Heating and Cooking with Solid Fuels, published
\nearlier this year in the American Journal of Epidemiology. This
\nstudy found that even in Eastern\/Central Europe and the United
\nKingdom where most homes are equipped with chimneys, cooking with
\nsolid fuels including coal significantly increases the risk of
\nlung cancer, while switching to \"modern\" nonsolid fuels reduced
\nthe risk.<\/p>\n
Studies conducted in China have detailed the nature and causes
\nof health risks to women and children of cooking with coal:
\nPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formed during coal combustion
\nare a cause of oesophageal and lung cancers, and other combustion
\nproducts increase rates of acute respiratory infections and
\nchronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (such as bronchitis and
\nemphysema).<\/p>\n
Amongst cooking fuels, coal brings unique health problems
\nbecause of a tendency to contain sulfur, mercury, arsenic,
\nselenium and fluoride contaminants. The quality of coal chosen
\nfor cooking is important. According to University of Pittsburgh
\nresearch published in 2004, women in Xuan Wei County, China who
\ncook indoors with local coal have 20 times the normal rate of
\ngenetic mutations that greatly increase their risk of developing
\nlung cancer.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in China, in a paper entitled Health impacts of
\ndomestic coal use in China researchers from the U.S. Geological
\nSurvey and the Institute of Geochemistry, Guizhou estimated that
\nat least 3,000 people in Guizhou Province in southwest China are
\nsuffering from chronic arsenic poisoning apparently from
\nconsuming food prepared over fires fueled with coal.<\/p>\n
Clay binders used to make briquettes can boost the levels of
\nfluorine naturally present in coal, with an estimated 10 million
\npeople in China suffering from dental and skeletal fluorosis
\n(bone deformation) caused by eating foods prepared over fluoride-
\ncontaining coal briquettes.<\/p>\n
In light of the Chinese experience, the government should
\nprovide details of the levels of toxic contaminants in the coal
\nproduced by proposed coal briquette manufacturer, PT Batu Bara
\nBukit Asam in order to assess the level of public health risk.<\/p>\n
In terms of fire safety, coal briquettes are not necessarily
\nas safe as they seem at first glance: Impatience or lack of
\nsafety training commonly leads to burn injuries when cooks apply
\ntoo much liquid fuel to start coal briquettes burning, or if they
\nmistakenly use an explosive starter fuel such as gasoline. Spent
\nbriquettes which appear to be extinguished can hold heat inside
\nfor several hours and may start a fire if disposed of too soon or
\ninto a plastic container.<\/p>\n
Although a kilogram of coal briquettes seems cheap, we must
\ntake into account that it contains only around 60 percent of the
\nenergy (5500 kcal) of a liter of kerosene (8900 kcal), and less
\nthan half the energy of a kilogram of liquid petroleum gas (11900
\nkcal).<\/p>\n
The government's plan to procure 10 million coal briquette
\nstoves seems a hastily contrived reaction to community outcry
\nover the unpopular policy to reduce fuel subsidies. However,
\nchoosing which cooking fuels to support entails examining the
\nneeds of different users and the various health, environmental
\nand poverty benefits and impacts.<\/p>\n
Coal is not an ideal replacement fuel, and fortunately there
\nare a range of low-impact alternatives available. For rural
\ncommunities, castor oil and biomass fuels produced from
\nagricultural wastes such as coconut and rice husks are a
\nrenewable and readily obtainable resource eminently worthy of
\nresearch and investment. The Agency for the Assesment and
\nApplication of Technology (BPPT) has also determined that solar
\ncookers are viable supplements to fuel-burning stoves.<\/p>\n
Where distribution centers can be established, particularly in
\ntowns, cooking with liquid petroleum gas (LPG) is healthier,
\neasier and more efficient, providing instant on\/off and
\nadjustable heating. Indonesia enjoys world-class gas reserves.<\/p>\n
The hurdle for most families is that purchasing an LPG stove
\ncosts around Rp 250 000, and a gas bottle costs around Rp 350
\n000. For LPG to be affordable it must compete with the purchase
\nprice of a kerosene stove at only Rp 100 000. If the government
\nis looking for a place to relocate subsidies to benefit the poor,
\nperhaps it could consider narrowing this gap.<\/p>\n
In contrast with renewable biomass fuel, coal is a non-
\nrenewable fossil fuel which brings health risks for indoor use
\nand environmental impacts through open-cut mining and greenhouse
\ngas emissions. It is doubtful that cooking with coal briquettes
\nwill be popular, and given the adverse impacts, cooking with coal
\nis not the best choice for public health or the environment.<\/p>\n
The writer is WALHI (Indonesian Forum for Environment)
\nnational office staff. He can be reached at igor@walhi.or.id.<\/p>",
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