High-Performance Kitchen - Health

Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) is believed to lead to an increase in acute respiratory diseases, SBS symptoms, and asthma and allergy flare-ups. These, in turn, can lead to an increase in absenteeism or a loss of productivity.
How to ensure a healthy kitchen environment

  • Improved thermal comfort with Halton's Integrated Design Approach
  • Technical solutions
    o Low emissions from materials – natural and tested
    o Cleanability of products
    o  Adjusted supply air flow rates – design method and demand-control ventilation
    o  Ductwork balancing – balancing dampers
    o  Enough fresh air to AHU dampers
  •  Process
    o Building process (construction, commissioning, maintenance, audits)
    o Use of indoor classification

The range of thermal comfort that is neutrally acceptable without health effects has been proposed as running between 17 °C as the lowest and 31 °C as the highest acceptable temperature (Weihe 1987, World Health Organization 1990).

To maintain adequate indoor conditions year-round, an air conditioning system is always needed in the kitchen. Without mechanical cooling, the air temperature in the kitchen will climb above 30 ºC from time to time in summer. That definitely reduces the performance of workers.

Symptoms of discomfort and health risks are indicated outside this range (see table of health risks). If a hood is not able to capture and contain the foul air within the kitchen area, both humidity and temperature increase in the kitchen, and pollutants spread throughout the kitchen and possibly to the surrounding dining and shopping areas. High contaminant removal efficiency is particularly critical in the front-cooking restaurants, where the actual cooking takes place close to the customers.
 Publications

Risto Kosonen: Literature Review on Health and Productivity Factors in Kitchens

Studies

Published studies demonstrate quite clearly the health risk of cooking. Thiebaud (1995) indicated that the fumes generated by frying pork and beef were mutagenic. Hence, chefs are exposed to relatively high levels of airborne mutagens and carcinogens. Vainiotalo (1993) carried out measurements at eight workplaces. The survey confirmed that cooking fumes contain hazardous components. It also indicated that kitchen workers may be exposed to relatively high concentrations of airborne impurities.

Although cigarette smoking is considered to be the most important cause of lung cancer, smoking behaviour cannot fully explain the epidemiological characteristics of lung cancer among Asian women, who rarely smoke but contract lung cancer relatively often. Ng (1993) found that over 97% of the women in Singapore do not smoke. Thus, the presumable sources of indoor air pollution for housewives are passive smoking and cooking. This study indicated that greater relative odds of respiratory symptoms were associated with the weekly frequency of gas cooking. A statistical link with chronic coughs, phlegm and breathlessness on exertion was also found.

These previous studies depict the importance of well-designed ventilation in the kitchen.


© Halton Group 2010