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INDOOR AIR EXPOSURE TO COAL AND WOOD COMBUSTION EMISSIONS IN XUAN WEI, CHINA, WITH A HIGH LUNG CANCER RATE
Citation:
Mumford, J., R. Chapman, D. Harris, X. He, S. Cao, Y. Xian, AND X. Li. INDOOR AIR EXPOSURE TO COAL AND WOOD COMBUSTION EMISSIONS IN XUAN WEI, CHINA, WITH A HIGH LUNG CANCER RATE. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-89/403 (NTIS PB90245929), 1989.
Description:
Residents of Xuan Wei County in China have unusually high lung cancer mortality that cannot be attributed to tobacco use or occupational exposure. hey are exposed to smoke from unvented, open pit coal or wood fires (often used for cooking and heating). The variation in lung cancer rates among communes within the county suggests that indoor combustion of smoky coal may be the prime determinant of lung cancer. o characterize the air in Xuan Wei homes, samples of the air particles and semivolatile organic compounds were collected from homes located in two communes; one commune has a high rate of lung cancer, and the other has a low rate. amples collected in the commune where the lung cancer rate is high and where smoky coal is the predominant fuel contained high concentrations of small particles with high organic content; organic extracts of these samples were mutagenic. amples from homes in the woodburning commune, which has a low rate of lung cancer, consisted mostly of larger particles of lower organic content and mutagenicity. he smoky coal sample was a mouse skin carcinogen and was a more potent initiator of skin tumors in comparison to the wood or smokeless coal sample.