Assessment of emissions from commercial cooking activities : a case study of the potential health effects of exposure to pm2.5 in AIT campus | |
| Author | Tiprada Maneepatra |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-21-19 |
| Subject(s) | Emissions Air Quality Management--Thailand--Bangkok Particles--Environmental aspects--Thailand--Bangkok |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a serious air pollution problem in Bangkok. Primary PM2.5 is released from many sources, including also the street cooking activity which has not received adequate attention for the emission control. This study aimed to assess the emissions from the commercial cooking activities including the street cooking activities in Bangkok, the commercial cooking in the AIT campus and the associated indoor PM2.5 levels. Personal exposures to PM2.5 by three groups of people at AIT (people in cafeteria, people in Student Union snack bar, and people in the office) were assessed and potential health effects were evaluated using the Hazard Risk Index (HRI). The questionnaire survey was done to gather the street cooking activity data at Yaowarat, Soi Convent, Minburi and Happy Street at Bang Kapi which represent three categories of streets in terms of cooking levels: the intensive cooking, the intermediate cooking and less cooking streets. Emissions were calculated separately for fuel combustion and only meat grilling activities. The results showed that the annual total emissions from street cooking activities of fuel combustions alone in Bangkok in ton/year for PM2.5, CO, BC and VOC were 347, 8,618, 204 and 1,731, respectively. Total PM2.5 emissions of street cooking including both fuel combustion and meat grilling from all streets in Bangkok were 764 tons/year. The PM2.5 monitoring was done using a PPS indoor sensor to record 5-min concentrations in the commercial cooking areas of cafeteria and SU snack bar in AIT. The highest concentration was found at the SU Snack bar with 365 μg/m3 . The levels at the Cafeteria were 73 μg/m3 while the ambient levels were lower, generally at 40 μg/m3 . The highest concentration was found at the office with 40 μg/m3 . The concentrations obtained from monitoring and were used to calculate the HRI for the risk assessment. The results showed that all people groups at AIT had HRI of above 1, indicating health risk. People working in SU Snack Bar would be affected most by PM2.5 exposure with HRI of 8-14, which may result in the health and respiratory problem. Other groups of people that were cafeteria worker and office staff at AIT had HRI of 2-3. Measures for emission control from cooking activities and reduce indoor levels at commercial cooking areas, such as by increasing the ventilation to reduce exposure especially in SU Snack Bar, were recommended. |
| Year | 2021 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Ekbordin Winijkul;Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh (Co-Chairperson) |
| Examination Committee(s) | Thammarat Koottatep;Kraichat Tantrakarnapa; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Royal Thai Government Fellowship;Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2021 |