Particulate emissions from the combustion of birch, beech, and spruce logs cause different cytotoxic responses in A549 cells.
According to the World Health Organization particulate emissions from the combustion of solid fuels caused more than 110,000 premature deaths worldwide in 2010. Log wood combustion is the most prevalent form of residential biomass heating in developed countries, but it is unknown how the type of wood logs used in furnaces influences the chemical composition of the particulate emissions and their toxicological potential. We burned logs of birch, beech and spruce, which are used commonly as firewood in Central and Northern Europe in a modern masonry heater, and compared them to the particulate emissions from an automated pellet boiler fired with softwood pellets. We determined the chemical composition (elements, ions, and carbonaceous compounds) of the particulate emissions with a diameter of less than 1 µm and tested their cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, inflammatory potential, and ability to induce oxidative stress in a human lung epithelial cell line. The chemical composition of the samples differed significantly, especially with regard to the carbonaceous and metal contents. Also the toxic effects in our tested endpoints varied considerably between each of the three log wood combustion samples, as well as between the log wood combustion samples and the pellet combustion sample. The difference in the toxicological potential of the samples in the various endpoints indicates the involvement of different pathways of toxicity depending on the chemical composition. All three emission samples from the log wood combustions were considerably more toxic in all endpoints than the emissions from the pellet combustion. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 32: 1487-1499, 2017.
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Stefanie
S
Kasurinen
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Pasi I
PI
Jalava
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Mikko S
MS
Happo
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.|HICE-Helmholtz Virtual Institute of Complex Molecular Systems in Environmental Health-Aerosols and Health, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Association, München, Germany.
Olli
O
Sippula
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Oskari
O
Uski
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Hanna
H
Koponen
HICE-Helmholtz Virtual Institute of Complex Molecular Systems in Environmental Health-Aerosols and Health, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Association, München, Germany.|Joint Mass Spectrometry Center, Cooperation Group Comprehensive Molecular Analytics, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany.
Jürgen
J
Orasche
HICE-Helmholtz Virtual Institute of Complex Molecular Systems in Environmental Health-Aerosols and Health, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Association, München, Germany.|Joint Mass Spectrometry Center, Cooperation Group Comprehensive Molecular Analytics, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany.|Department of Analytical and Technical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
Ralf
R
Zimmermann
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Jorma
J
Jokiniemi
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Maija-Riitta
MR
Hirvonen
D000072283:A549 Cells; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor; D056809:Alveolar Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D029662:Betula / Q000737:chemistry*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003296:Cooking; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000187:drug effects; D029964:Fagus / Q000737:chemistry*; D005390:Fires; D006801:Humans; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D028222:Picea / Q000737:chemistry*; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012906:Smoke / Q000032:analysis; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014934:Wood / Q000737:chemistry*
D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D012906:Smoke
correlation; inhalation toxicity; physicochemical; residential; wood combustion