This research focuses on the relationship between biomass smoke, coal smoke, and health in China. The purpose of this research is based on several key factors. First, unlike many other countries, there has not been any substantial research in China linking indoor pollution and its threats to health. Secondly, much of China’s rural population is still relying on biomass/coal as the primary method of heating. Thus this research has the well being of China’s non-urban population in mind. Thirdly, with China having some of the most polluted urban areas in the world, this research highlights the overlooked and underestimated health effects from indoor-pollution. Products of incomplete combustion (or PICs) are the chief culprits exacerbating domestic health issues. Specifically they are the extremely small but dangerous particulates that are not destroyed in a fireplace. They are mixed and come in many forms, such as CO2, NO2, and other carcinogenic materials. These are often products of biomass; however, coals have completely different yet equally toxic PICs such as mercury, lead, and arsenic. The article claims to find strong evidence linking these PICs to unhealthy domestic conditions. To collect this data, the research pulled from a World Bank study that analyzed poor regions in China that relied on biomass/coal to heat homes. They collected the data from actual households over a 457-day period. This research was clear with what questions it intended to answer, why this information is important, and how it was collected.

Zhang, Junfeng, and Kirk R. Smith. “Household Air Pollution from Coal and Biomass Fuels in China: Measurements, Health Impacts, and Interventions.” Environmental Health Perspectives 115, no. 6 (2007): 848-55. Accessed March 26, 2017. doi:10.1289/ehp.9479.