Obtaining polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentration ratios and molecular markers for residential wood combustion: Temuco, a case study.

It is known that residential wood combustion (RWC) is an important source of fine particle emissions. The purpose of this work was to characterize the chemical composition of the particulate matter present in the Temuco urban atmosphere during winter, specifically the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) profile, because PAHs are considered to be among the key compounds in particulate matter toxicity. During the 2008 winter monitoring campaign, samples of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters of < or = 10 (PM10) and < or = 2.