Background

Cooking is a substantial contributor to air pollutant exposures in many residences. Effective use of kitchen ventilation can mitigate exposure; however, information on its availability, usage, and potential to increase its use across the population has been limited.

Objective

This study aimed to obtain nationally representative information on cooking methods, kitchen ventilation availability and usage, and the potential for education to increase effective usage.

Methods

An online survey was sent to a representative sample of Canadian homes to collect data on cooking methods, the presence and use of mechanical kitchen ventilation devices, perceived device performance, and willingness to implement mitigation strategies. Responses were weighted to match key demographic factors and analyzed using non-parametric statistics.

Results

Among the 4500 respondents, 90% had mechanical ventilation devices over the cooktop (66% of which were vented to the outside), and 30% reported regularly using their devices. Devices were used most often for deep-frying, followed by stir-frying, sautéing or pan-frying, indoor grilling, boiling or steaming. Almost half reported rarely or never using their ventilation devices during baking or oven self-cleaning. Only 10% were fully satisfied with their devices. More frequent use was associated with the device being vented to the outdoors, having more than two speed settings, quiet operation if only one speed, covering over half of the cooktop, and higher perceived effectiveness. After being informed of the benefits of kitchen ventilation, 64% indicated they would consider using their devices more often, preferentially using back burners with ventilation, and/or using higher ventilation device settings when needed.

Impact

This study provides population-representative data on the most used cooking methods, kitchen ventilation availability and usage, and influencing factors in Canadian homes. Such data are needed for exposure assessments and evaluating the potential to mitigate cooking-related pollutant exposures via more effective use of kitchen ventilation. The data can be reasonably extrapolated to the United States, given the similarities in residential construction practices and cultural norms between the two countries.

Cooking is one of the main sources of indoor air pollutants, and may even exceed the contribution from outdoor sources. This pilot study examines the use of different flow-rate fans during cooking and tests whether continuing to run the fan after cooking significantly improves pollutant removal rates and integrated exposures. Tests were carried out in the Canadian Centre for Housing Technology's twin research houses, in Ottawa, Ontario. We completed the same cooking protocol 60 times on a gas stove, testing 6 different flow rates on three different over-the-range exhaust fans, while continuously measuring UFP, PM2.5, NO2, and NO. The fan was operated during cooking for all tests and then either turned off or left on after cooking for the duration of the three hour test. We estimated decay rates, source emission rates, and integrated exposures to measured pollutants following the cooking test. The results showed that while leaving the fan on after cooking generally increased decay rates, it had a relatively small effect on integrated exposures compared to the effects of fan flow rate and the specific fan used during cooking. For PM2.5, the effect of running an exhaust fan for 15 min after cooking was similar in magnitude to the impact of a 100 cfm increase in the flow rate used while cooking: both were associated with a decrease in 15-min integrated exposure of roughly 3 μg m−3. This suggests that one can partially compensate for a low flow rate exhaust fan by continuing to run the fan after cooking.

Cooking is the main source of ultrafine particles (UFP) in homes. This study investigated the effect of venting range hood flow rate on size-resolved UFP concentrations from gas stove cooking. The same cooking protocol was conducted 60 times using three venting range hoods operated at six flow rates in twin research houses. Size-resolved particle (10–420 nm) concentrations were monitored using a NanoScan scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) from 15 min before cooking to 3 h after the cooking had stopped. Cooking increased the background total UFP number concentrations to 1.3 × 103 particles/cm3 on average, with a mean exposure-relevant source strength of 1.8 × 1012 particles/min. Total particle peak reductions ranged from 25% at the lowest fan flow rate of 36 L/s to 98% at the highest rate of 146 L/s. During the operation of a venting range hood, particle removal by deposition was less significant compared to the increasing air exchange rate driven by exhaust ventilation. Exposure to total particles due to cooking varied from 0.9 to 5.8 × 104 particles/cm3·h, 3 h after cooking ended. Compared to the 36 L/s range hood, higher flow rates of 120 and 146 L/s reduced the first-hour post-cooking exposure by 76% and 85%, respectively. © 2018 Crown Copyright. Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.