Exploring PM2.5 Exposure of Chefs in Professional Kitchens

ASHRAE's Kitchen Ventilation technical committee, TC 5.10, has researched many aspects of commercial kitchens, including what factors impact the hood performance, which is the ability of an exhaust hood to remove all the grease, smoke, heat, moisture and other cooking effluents from a kitchen space. Three research projects characterized the grease emissions present in the exhaust for a large variety of appliances. Another investigated thermal comfort in commercial kitchens. However, none evaluated the impact of those grease emissions with regard to what levels of particulate matter (PM) were reaching the staff or customers, the subject of this article.