Chemical and biological characterization of emissions from a cereal straw burning furnace

Emissions from a cereal straw through-burning furnace have been characterized by chemical analysis and the Ames $\text{Salmonella/microsome}$ assay. The emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were considerable, from 24 to 64 mg per kilo dry fuel. Most of the mutagenic activity was found in the extracts of the particles, while the condensate fractions and the XAD-2 extracts showed much lower mutagenic responses.