ABSTRACT
The most direct impacts on health relate to fires, bums, and air pollution exposure resulting from household use of biofuel-fired stoves. A direct answer to the question about air pollution effects from decentralized use of biofuels is not yet possible because so little direct work has so far been done. The concern in developed countries, of course, relates to outdoor air quality since metal heating stoves essentially all have flues or chimneys. Biofuel smoke, like tobacco smoke, contains hundreds and probably thousands of individual carbon-containing chemicals, many of which have been shown to be damaging to health in either human or animal studies. A set of interconnected problems relate to the domestic biofuel cycle in those many parts of the developing world where harvesting is done by household members. A range of fuel, stove, and ventilation strategies are available for reducing the hazards, but require efforts at village as well as government level to be successful.
