With open fires and traditional cook stoves causing millions of injuries and deaths annually, a new document from ISO represents attempts to define criteria for clean, efficient and safe cook stoves.

The ISO International Workshop Agreement, IWA 11:2012, Guidelines for evaluating cookstove performance, is the first document of its type backed by international consensus.

According to the World Health Organization, exposure to smoke from traditional cook stoves and open fires causes two million premature deaths annually, with women and young children among the most affected. In addition, open fires and traditional cook stoves increase pressures on local environmental resources (e.g., forests, habitats) and contribute to climate change at the regional and global levels.

IWA 11 represents a critical first step towards a common understanding of how to define and verify clean stoves and fuels among all affected countries and stakeholders, and to encourage innovation to find even better cooking solutions.

For more information visit www.iso.org 

 

Posted July 23rd, 2012 at 1415 by Andrew. Comment by emailing andrew.lynch@pavpub.com