Thermal environment of occupant and exposure to fine particles during cooking process in a Chinese urban residential kitchen

As a significant source of indoor pollution, fine particles (PM2.5) during cooking in kitchen leads to serious threat to human health. In this study, field measurement in an urban residence kitchen in China was conducted. Air quality tester and aerosol monitor were applied to monitor temperature and PM2.5 mass concentration of occupant during several cooking processes. Then, exposure assessment was proposed to analyse potential exposure dose to PM2.5 inhaled by individual combined with occupant's residence time and pollutant concentration. Results demonstrated that during whole cooking process, temperature could rise from 25.5 °C to 30 °C. Concentration could reach up to ~1400 μg/m³ when frying. There was a remarkable increase on pollutant concentration after adding condiments. Meanwhile, potential exposure dose was estimated to be 418.6 μg/h. Research output can provide basic data for studies on inhalation control and health risk assessment.