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Air pollution and its influence on the incidence of respiratory diseases in Santa Elena Ecuador 2020

Abstract:

The use of solid fuels for cooking represents the main environmental risk in America, affecting 90 million people and causing the death of 83,000 people on the continent in 2016, while in the world this last figure reaches more than 4 million people. Burning solid fuels such as wood, charcoal in stoves or stoves emits carbon monoxide and high levels of particulate matter that are suspended in the air. For its part, carbon monoxide is a recognized atmospheric pollutant, with a great capacity to affect the human organism, with odorless, colorless and non-irritating properties that make it difficult to detect. The degree of exposure to carbon monoxide is evaluated by measuring the saturation of carboxyhemoglobin in blood, which is determined with techniques such as absorption spectrophotometry in solution. This research was carried out in the Ayangue commune, Ecuador, in dining rooms that continue the tradition of cooking on firewood as an attraction for tourists. A moderate positive correlation was found between the average COHb value and the hours of the daily working day (r = 0.674); with the use of firewood or charcoal for cooking at work (r = 0.537; 88%); and with the presence of physical symptoms such as headache (r = 0.616) and nausea (r = 0.524). These physiological alterations appear during or immediately after the work day, according to 88% of the symptomatic ones.