Pollutant emissions from portable kerosene-fired space heaters

Indoor use of unvented combustion appliances is known to cause an increase in indoor air pollutants. We conducted laboratory tests on two radiant and two convective portable kerosene-fired space heaters to identify the pollutants they emit and to determine their emission rates. Results show that carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde were emitted by both types of heaters and that the radiant heaters and one of the convective heaters also emitted trace amounts of fine particles. When such heaters are operated for 1 h in a 27-m/sup 3/ chamber with 0.4 air changes per hour, the resultant CO/sub 2/ concentrations are well above the U.S. occupational standard, and NO/sub 2/ concentrations are well above California's short-term outdoor standard.