Effect of emissions from residential wood stoves on SCE induction in CHO cells.

The SCE-induction capacity of emissions from an airtight horizontal baffled residential wood stove was investigated in CHO cells. The samples were taken under normal and starved air conditions, from burning birch and spruce separately. Both particle phase and vapour phase were collected. All samples induced a dose-related response in SCE both with and without a metabolic activation system, the rat-liver microsomal fraction. The burning conditions in the stove influenced the mutagenicity of the emissions more than the type of wood; the smoke from wood burning under starved air conditions was more than one order of magnitude more potent in inducing a significant SCE response. With all samples, the response in SCE induction was highest without metabolic activation. The toxicity of the samples, especially those without S9, limited the dose-range tested.