Chemical Composition and Toxicity of Siberian Biomass Burning in the Large Aerosol Chamber (Tomsk).

Physicochemical and toxicological properties of biomass burning are of great importance for the assessment of the impacts of wildfires on the environment. However, the data on Siberian wildfires are limited. The composition of aerosols originating during Siberian biomass burning is studied in the Large Aerosol Chamber (LAC) of the Institute of Atmospheric Optics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk. In this work, we study the composition of organic compounds in Siberian pine and forest debris smoke produced during smoldering and flaming phases and aging with the use of FTIR spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and liquid chromatography. Markers which allow identifying the combustion conditions and biomass type are suggested, namely, characteristic absorption bands, ratios of carboxyl and aliphatic functionalities, and diagnostic ratios of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Emission factors and carcinogenic risk of smoke PAHs are estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]