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CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF INDOOR AIR OF HOMES FROM COMMUNES IN XUAN WEI, CHINA, WITH HIGH LUNG CANCER MORTALITY RATES
Citation:
Chuang, J., S. Cao, Y. Xian, B. Harris, AND J. Mumford. CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF INDOOR AIR OF HOMES FROM COMMUNES IN XUAN WEI, CHINA, WITH HIGH LUNG CANCER MORTALITY RATES. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-93/081.
Description:
The paper discusses the chemical characterization of indoor air of homes from communes in Xuan Wei, China, with a high lung cancer mortality rate. (NOTE: In Xuan Wei, a rural county, the lung cancer mortality rate is among China's highest, especially in women. This mortality rate is more associated with indoor air burning of smoky coal, as opposed to smokeless coal or wood, for cooking and heating under unvented conditions.) Homes using different fuels from communes with high and low cancer mortality rates were sampled for particulate matter (< 10 micrometers) and semivolatile organics. The fine particles obtained from homes using smoky coal contained highest concentrations of organic matter (> 70%), including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), followed by homes using wood and smokeless coal. The major components present in the smoky coal filter samples were PAHs and alkylated PAHs. he smokeless coal filter samples exhibited profiles which were similar to the smoky coal samples, except that some sulfur compounds were found. The estimated concentration levels of PAHs in the smokeless coal samples were about one or two orders of magnitude lower than those of the smoky coal samples. In addition to PAHs, aliphatic compounds and fatty acids were the major components found in the wood samples.