Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure and Household Solid Fuel Combustion in Xuanwei and Fuyuan Counties, China

Background: Xuanwei and its neighboring county of Fuyuan, in Yunnan province, China, have among the highest lung cancer rates in the nation regardless of smoking status. This has been associated with the domestic combustion of locally sourced ‘smoky’ coal (a bituminous coal), which emits higher levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on combustion than does locally sourced ‘smokeless’ coal (an anthracite coal). However, little is known about variation in PAH exposure throughout the region, or how exposure is affected by stove design and house characteristics. Methods: An exposure assessment of 163 households (83 from Xuanwei and 80 from Fuyuan) and their female heads (who were primarily responsible for cooking) was carried out to catalogue the exposure characteristics of the solid fuels and stoves used. Particle-bound and gas-phase PAH measurements were taken on two consecutive days, which were repeated for~50% of the subjects in a second season. Samples were analyzed for a panel of 16 PAHs by G...