The purpose of the study is to develop sampling strategies and bioassay methods for indoor air in homes. The work reported here was conducted to prepare for a joint U.S.-China field study in Xuan Wei County, Yunnan Province, southern China, where the residents traditionally burn coal or wood for domestic cooking and heating without flue ventilation. These residents are exposed daily to high levels of combustion smoke and have unusually high lung cancer mortality rates, the women's rate the highest in China, and the men's rate among the highest. The paper reports the chemical and biological characterization of coal emissions from a simulated combustion laboratory.