Hazard Assessment of Arabian Incense and Cigarette Smoke - Research Paper Example

Hazard Assessment of Arabian Incense and Cigarette Smoke al Affiliation) Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Abstract 3 Introduction 5 Background 5 Harmful Effects of Incense Inhalation 6 Pollutants Emitted From Burning Incense 7 The major types of air pollutants in incense smoke 7 State of Problem or program 9 Objectives of the study 9 Description of the project 10 Timetable of the project 11 Findings 12 References 13 Abstract Most Countries from the Arabian Gulf practice incense burning in closed quarters-restaurants, homes and other leisure establishments set aside for this purpose. Incense burning has however been recently identified as a potentially hazardous source of indoor air pollution. The recent reports have led to increased interest in the practice in order to establish and understand the effects of incense burning and the potential lifelong effects the practice is bound to have on individuals. Indoor incense burning is identified as a modified source of air pollution and the need to conduct hazard assessment tests is important in trying to explain and discover its adverse effects. The goals of the study are to establish and characterize the particles and gases that are emitted from Arabian incense in comparison to cigarette smoke over the time period when it is burned and record the carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide readings that where a PPM reading is attached for facilitating the reading of the results of the emitted gases. Other possible examinations could be the examination of the vitro human cells responses to incense smoking. The experiment was conducted in a mid-sized apartment and incense from the United Arab Emirates was burned in a closed apartment in order to reciprocate the conditions that are found in the Arab countries. The control group was cigarette smoke and a local cigarette was burned and placed in similar conditions for the purposes of comparing the results. The air quality was to be analyzed by the attached PPM readings for both carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gases. The readings were taken in two different ways for a period of 2hours for each subject; cigarette and incense. PM concentration were measured for both types of burning and the presence of the CO and CO2 gases were also tested and their concentrations reported and other carbonyls present. The CO and PM weighted averages were found to exceed the regulated government standard set aside. The emissions from the incense burning were found to exceed the cigarette smoke emissions, which was higher than the reported environmental tobacco smoke reports that were earlier conducted. Further analysis discovered that charcoal emissions were the main contributor of the high CO and CO2 concentrations recorded. Evaluation on the effects of both experiments suggests incense burning to have more harmful effects to human health than tobacco smoking and it contributes to an even greater percentage to indoor air pollution Introduction Background Incense burning is a widely practiced activity in many Arab countries in the Arabian Gulf Peninsula and none more so than the United Arab Emirates where it is practiced in shops, homes, and mosques. Due to its many cultural uses like scenting clothes and homes, removing bad odors of perishable goods, reports suggest that just over 90%of households in UAE practice incense smoking indoors. This has however led to health concerns associated with air pollution from the inhalation of smoke from burning incense. Further concerns are highlighted because many homes in UAE do not have proper ventilation properties and more other factors like how people spend over 90% of their time indoors. Other major concerns are the fact that there is incense smoking has no set characterization about its effect on indoor air pollution unlike activities like cooking and tobacco smoking effect on air pollution, which have been characterized, and measures instituted to curb the problem. This means that the resultant accumulation and concentration of the chemical pollutants from incense smoking has been undiagnosed for years. The country has a number of types of incense used like Bakhoor and Oudh. The two brands are very popular in UAE but differ slightly. Bakhoor for example is made from the sandalwood tree resin and complied with other substances, essential oils, and agarwoood while Oudh is derived from the agarwoood of the tree Aquilaria agallocha. Harmful Effects of Incense Inhalation It is important to understand the process the incense undergoes when it is burned. When the Arabian incense is lit, it produces a slow burn that is continuous couple with an incomplete combustion that emits a sweet smell. The smoke produced has many pollutants, which are in the gaseous and aerosol stage of chemical change. The UAE incense is also differentiated from the other types found across the globe in that it uses charcoal briquettes to facilitate in the combustion of the incense. Studies conducted to establish the effects of the Arabian incense burning are very few. However, a case study was conducted in 2007 among children from Qatar between the ages of 2 to 12 years. The study was exploring the role that is played by Arabian incense with importance placed on its role and correlation in increased asthma attacks and wheezing among children. Of the 200 children included in the case study, 100 of them were diagnosed to be asthmatic. The asthmatic children were found to be exposed to two popular incenses: Bakhoor and Oudh. There have been other studies conducted such as the one in Oman where there were contradictory results in a cross sectional study of ten year old children. The study has used 2,441 children. The study in Oman reported that the Bakhoor brand was correlated with 38% cases of asthma in the children but the continued use of the brand was not to be associated with the present diagnosis of asthma among the sampled children. Other studies have reported a number of effects that are due to incense burning in indoor settings. The effects range from nose irritations, chest pains, eye problems, contracterdermatitis and even respiratory and lung complications. It is believed that the particles in incense smoke are deposited in the lung tissues resulting in adverse inflammatory reactions. According to Emission characterizations from major indoor sources and carbonyls investigation in four Chinese mega-cities. It was noted that by exposing human lung cells exposed to incense smoke, particles from the smoke settles in lung periphery and the inflammatory responses are measured by observing the regulation of a number of inflammatory gees like interleukin-8(IL-8) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2).In turn phagocytes release IL-8 due to exposure to stimuli from the inflammation and neutrophils, which are activated by cytokine to the lungs. Incense smoke was also found to cause mutation in typhoid causing salmonella bacteria (Emission characterizations from major indoor sources and carbonyls investigation in four Chinese mega-cities 2007) Pollutants Emitted From Burning Incense The pollutants emitted from burning incense are categorized into 2 groups-gaseous and particulate phases. The two are emitted at the same time meaning the smoker is exposed to two deadly combinations at the same time. Recent scientific reports suggest that the major pollutants are particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and formaldehyde (HCHO). The major types of air pollutants in incense smoke People continuously exposed to incense smoke inhale a variety of harmful gases that contain, gas products, particulate matter and a host of organic compounds. Reports indicate that it is very difficult to establish the health effects due to the inhalation of of the fumes from incense burning. It is however very important to establish the elements composing incenses smoke and their respective toxological effects. Particulate matter consist of air particles that are categorizes in terms of their ability to penetrate the human respiratory system. They can be classified as coarse particles which are greater than 10 μm in diameter or the other particles that are less than. 10 μm in diameter. Coarse particles do not pose an immediate threat to the human respiratory system because they are too large to enter the respiratory system while particles less than (PM10)-cells with a diameter less than 10 μm as are very lethal since they accumulate in the system when inhaled. (PM10)-cells are further classified and include particles that range from 10 to 2.5 μm and those less than 0.1 μm. These particles are known respectively as fine and ultrafine and can accumulate as deep as the air sacs in the lungs. According to some epidemiological studies, there is a link between the fine particle matter and a number of acute health effects like respiratory systems, death and lung dysfunction. The USEPA Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter, 2004 reported that, there was a correlation between the fie particle matter exposure and respiratory associated fatalities. The indoor burning of tobacco, incense are major sources of fine and ultrafine particulate matter. Scientific reports suggest that incense burning generates as much as 45 mg/g of PM compared to 10 mg/g from tobacco burning. The inclusion of calcium carbonate in incense has been noted to inhibit the emission of particulate matter by 40%. According to Incense smoke: Clinical, structural and molecular effects on airway disease, carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas generated from the incomplete combustion of organic substances like incense and cigarettes. The gas, when released, fuses with haemoglobin me the human body restricting the blood’s capacity to transport oxygen to the body parts resulting in nausea, dizziness, headaches, weakness and death when in high doses (Incense smoke: Clinical, structural and molecular effects on airway disease,2008). Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. These gases produced by incense and cigarette smoke lead to respiratory ailments, cardiovascular diseases, reduced work capacity, lung irritation and adverse effects on pulmonary function. Volatile organic compounds like isoprene, benzene, toluene are responsible for a number of respiratory and kidney problems. Their symptoms range from throat irritation, nausea, vomiting, and nose irritation, and eye irritation, dizziness to cancer, kidney and liver damage. It has been proved that smoking and burning of incense emits isoprene, CO and benzene. A study was conducted in 1999 by burning incense in a large environmental chamber. The results noted that as recommended by the Indoor Air Quality Objectives for Office Buildings in Hong Kong, the benzene and toluene levels were significantly higher than the standard set. During combustion of incense, materials known as aerosols and formaldehyde are generated which are very volatile organic compounds that are characterised by a low molecular weight and are absorbed by the human respiratory system as particulates below the 10-μm diameter range. Their symptoms include eye and skin irritation, blockage of the nasal membranes and oral passages, chocking, coughing and blocking of the bronchitis. Correlations have been made to some forms of formaldehyde exposure and the spread of cancer. Burning incense has other side effects such as the emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as evidenced in Taiwan and others like diethlyphthalate, which have been discovered to facilitate the growth of carcinogenic cells. State of Problem or program To find out whether incense smoke is more hazardous than cigarette smoke Objectives of the study The purposes of the study are to examine the adverse effects due to indoor incense smoking exposure and cigarette smoking exposure. The project uses monitoring devices and techniques to provide emission results over a given period. The experiment examines the PPM values to examine the dilute concentrations of CO and CO2.The readings are taken in two different days for a period of 2 hours each. The readings from the study are to be compared with the NISOH, REL, and OSHA PEL standards and the EPA stipulated standard for air quality. The mid-sized apartment is constructed in such a way that it replicates real life indoor incense and tobacco burning situations found in most homes. The apartment was simulated to match the ventilation capacity of homes, the size to volume capacity, burn procedure and the dilution rate of incense and tobacco smoke. The observations to make from the burning of tobacco and cigarette smoke are from 6 PM to 8PM for two days each on separate days. For analysis, an 8-hour average of dilution rates is to be recorded. The experiment uses Gas Alert micro clip XT for recording levels for recording levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and a Dragger Accuro Pump for monitoring and recording the levels of carbon dioxide emitted by the incense and tobacco burns for comparative analysis. The combined assessment of the data will potentially aid in the evaluation of the byproducts of indoor burning of incense, tobacco and the adverse effects correlated with their use, and the necessary counter measures to prevent and reduce exposure to the harmful gases. It is expected from the project that burning incense smoke is more hazardous than cigarettes smoke. Description of the project The project used an indoor burn simulation(mid-sized apartment).The apartment was enclosed an lined with non-reactive Teflon film to preserve the gases emitted by the incense and tobacco burning with a thickness of around 125 μm and also installed with a small fixing fan. As observed in other studies of a similar nature, the chamber ventilation was established at a constant 0.5 chamber exchange for every hour. It was also monitored by a Gas Alert micro clip XT and Dragger Accuro Pump for monitoring the diffusion amount of the CO and CO2 gases emitted. The apartment’s air quality was established before the conduction of the experiment and vented for an hour outside. The air in the apartment was compared with the set EPA for quality control purposes. Charcoal was lit in the apartment, Arabian incense was placed in a hold on top of hot charcoal, and the door was shut. On the other day, between 6PM and 8PM, a similar set up was put in place, cigarettes of equal weight to the incense were lit, and the door of the apartment shut. Timetable of the project The project was conducted in 2days from the time 6 PM to 8 PM. The first day, the experiment conducted the study in amid sized apartment by burning incense and recording the PPM levels for both carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide while the same was repeated on the second day for cigarette smoke and the results are tabled below. Day 1 (6PM to 8PM Day 2(6PM to 8PM) Burning incenses Cigarette Smoke Carbon Monoxide (Device 1 and 2 is Gas Alert micro clip XT) Device 1: 15 PPM Device 1: 5.1 PPM Device 2: 14.7 PPM Device 2: 4.2 PPM Carbon Dioxide ( Device 1 is Drager Accuro Pump) Device 1: 12500PPM Device 2: 2500PPM Carbon Monoxide PPM values Incense burning Cigarette smoking Example of incense burning Findings From the study conducted, the findings were consistent with the objectives. The incense burning produced consistently higher values for carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide than cigarette smoking meaning incense burning is more hazardous than tobacco smoke. References Emission characterizations from major indoor sources and carbonyls investigation in four Chinese mega-cities. (2007). the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Incense smoke: Clinical, structural, and molecular effects on airway disease. (2008). BioMed Central. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/ Read More