Mutagenic changes in dilute wood smoke as it ages and reacts with ozone and nitrogen dioxide. An outdoor chamber study

Residential wood combustion accounts for more of the annual emission of polycyclic organic compounds than any other source. In the U.S. more than 30% of the mutagenic material emitted into the atmosphere comes from wood combustion. Dilute wood smoke was aged in the dark or in sunlight in outdoor Teflon film exposure chambers. The smoke was permitted to age by itself or react with low levels of nitrogen dioxide, ozone, or a combination of the two. The direct-acting bacterial mutagenicity of smoke extracts and no2. No such increases were observed with smoke aged in the dark or in light in the presence of no2 or o3.