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<p>Incense burning is a widely practiced cultural and religious activity in households and public worship spaces, but it significantly contributes to indoor air pollution through the release of fine particulate matter (PM), toxic gases, and hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The field survey observations conducted at 74 worship sites revealed the continuous burning of multiple incense sticks, leading to prolonged suspension of pollutants and posing serious health risks, particularly to children and senior citizens. This study emphasizes laboratory experiments on continuous burning under multiple incense-burning scenarios to develop a baseline understanding of the trend of increasing suspended emissions over time and the associated exposure risks. The results indicated that the average PM₁ concentration during the initial hour of incense burning was 258.98 ± 11.23&#xa0;µg/m<sup>3</sup>, with subsequent hourly intervals (1–2, 2–3, and 3–4&#xa0;h) showing increased concentrations by factors of 1.14, 1.33, and 1.51, respectively. A similar upward trend was observed for trace metals, water-soluble inorganic ions, and various VOCs, highlighting serious potential health risks. To mitigate these emissions, a novel control assembly combining emission sparging and multilayer nanofiber filtration was developed. This system reduced PM₁ concentrations from 1956.23 ± 179.25&#xa0;µg/m<sup>3</sup> to 241.88 ± 21.76&#xa0;µg/m<sup>3</sup>, achieving a 87% filtration efficiency. Further enhancement using a nano-coated filter reduce the concentration to 95.42 ± 10.17&#xa0;µg/m<sup>3</sup> with overall reduction to 94.52%. The findings emphasize the need for such emission-control assemblies and targeted health measures to reduce exposure risks associated with incense burning.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>

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Emissions and health risks of prolonged incense burning in worship spaces: simulated real-life scenarios and strategic approaches for exposure assessment, control, and mitigation

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月17日

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  • Gopal Ashok Gupta,
  • Roshan Kumar Singh,
  • Janakarajan Ramkumar,
  • Sandip Patil,
  • Tarun Gupta

摘要

Incense burning is a widely practiced cultural and religious activity in households and public worship spaces, but it significantly contributes to indoor air pollution through the release of fine particulate matter (PM), toxic gases, and hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The field survey observations conducted at 74 worship sites revealed the continuous burning of multiple incense sticks, leading to prolonged suspension of pollutants and posing serious health risks, particularly to children and senior citizens. This study emphasizes laboratory experiments on continuous burning under multiple incense-burning scenarios to develop a baseline understanding of the trend of increasing suspended emissions over time and the associated exposure risks. The results indicated that the average PM₁ concentration during the initial hour of incense burning was 258.98 ± 11.23 µg/m3, with subsequent hourly intervals (1–2, 2–3, and 3–4 h) showing increased concentrations by factors of 1.14, 1.33, and 1.51, respectively. A similar upward trend was observed for trace metals, water-soluble inorganic ions, and various VOCs, highlighting serious potential health risks. To mitigate these emissions, a novel control assembly combining emission sparging and multilayer nanofiber filtration was developed. This system reduced PM₁ concentrations from 1956.23 ± 179.25 µg/m3 to 241.88 ± 21.76 µg/m3, achieving a 87% filtration efficiency. Further enhancement using a nano-coated filter reduce the concentration to 95.42 ± 10.17 µg/m3 with overall reduction to 94.52%. The findings emphasize the need for such emission-control assemblies and targeted health measures to reduce exposure risks associated with incense burning.

Graphical abstract