This study was conducted in a laboratory-controlled environment aiming at studying the physical properties and elemental composition of coal combustion particles in a brazier. Particles were sampled ~1 m above the stove using a partector, where particles were collected on gold Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) grids and polycarbonate filters for TEM and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis, respectively. Particles for elemental analysis collected on a 37 µm polycarbonate filters whereby a Gillian pump was used to draw in air. During sampling, a 2.5 µm cyclone was attached to the sampling cassette to isolate larger particles. The results have shown that combustion particles emitted during the early stage of combustion where single spherical particles with a diameter of around 450 nm. As the combustion progresses, the particle diameter gradually decreases and the morphology changes to accretion chain and fluffy bead structure for the flaming and char-burning phase, respectively.

A D-grade type coal was burned under simulated domestic practices in a controlled laboratory set-up, in order to characterize emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs); viz. benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX). Near-field concentrations were collected in a shack-like structure constructed using corrugated iron, simulating a traditional house found in informal settlements in South Africa. Measurements were carried out using the Synspec Spectras GC955 real-time monitor over a three-hour burn cycle. The 3-hour average concentrations (in µg/m³) of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, p-xylene and o-xylene were 919 ± 44, 2051 ± 91, 3838 ±19, 4245 41 and 3576 ± 49, respectively. The cancer risk for adult males and females in a typical SA household exposure scenario, was found to be 1.1 -1.2 and 110-120 folds higher than the US EPA designated risk severity indicator (1E^-6), respectively. All four TEX compounds recorded the Hazard Quotient (HQ) of less than 1, indicating a low risk of developing related non-carcinogenic health effects. The HQ for TEX ranged from 0.001– 0.05, with toluene concentrations being the lowest and ethylbenzene the highest. This study has demonstrated that domestic coal burning may be a significant source of BTEX emission exposure.