hydrocarbons; Cigarettes

Few studies have been done on indoor air pollution in areas of extreme poverty in developing countries. In such countries, for economic reasons, people use solid fuel for cooking and heating fuels which by incomplete combustion generate high levels of toxic pollutants. These represent an important risk factor for human health. We have investigated the levels of carbon mon-oxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), respirable particulate matter (PM10), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and mutagenicity in the PM5 fraction, as well as tempera-ture and humidity, in the interior of 24 houses in La Pinta-na, Santiago. In addition, we have conducted a survey about symptoms, signs and respiratory diseases possi-bly associated with socio-economic factors in the area