Source · material
Coal
Part of: Indoor fuel combustion
Also: coals, anthracite, lignite, brown coal, coal combustion, coal smoke
A fossil solid fuel burned indoors for cooking and heating, often in stoves that vent poorly or not at all. Besides the particles and carbon monoxide common to any solid fuel, coal carries sulfur and trace elements that the fuel itself contributes.
Where it comes from indoors
Coal is burned indoors where it is cheap and locally mined, and it is used for heating as often as for cooking — which means the emission continues through the whole of a cold season rather than for the hour a meal takes.
What separates it from biomass is composition. Coal contains sulfur, so burning it produces sulfur dioxide; it contains mineral matter and trace elements, including arsenic and fluorine in some seams, which leave the fire in the ash and the smoke; and its smoke is richer in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This is why domestic coal smoke is classified as a human carcinogen on its own account, separately from the particles it shares with wood.
Smokeless and processed coals change the emission but do not remove the fuel’s mineral content.
What the studies report
12 of 26 Findings — those with the strongest study design.
| Linked to | Effect | Population | Study design | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lung cancer | OR 1.27 (1.15–1.41) | adults of Jiangsu Province · home | population-based case-control study in Jiangsu Province, China, from 2003 to 2010: 2871 lung cancer cases and 8019 controls interviewed in person about the sources of indoor air pollution in their homes, with adjusted odds ratios from unconditional logistic regression and an integrated weighted risk score | F-1318 Fang et al. The Association Between Indoor Air Pollution and Lung Cancer… (2025) | machine |
| Cognitive dysfunction | HR 1.249 (1.061–1.470) | — · home | prospective cohort of older adults: the household cooking fuel related to cognitive decline over follow-up, with social engagement tested as a modifier | F-1689 Household fuel use, social engagement, and cognitive decline… (2026) | machine |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) | HR 1.06 (0.98–1.15) | — · home | prospective cohort of Chinese adults: cooking and heating fuel recorded at baseline and at resurveys, with incident chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ascertained through linked health records over a long follow-up | F-1769 Li Solid Fuel Use and Incident COPD in Chinese Adults: Findings… (2019) | machine |
| Blood pressure | other 0.08 (-0.005–0.17) | women younger than 40 years · home | longitudinal study of Chinese women: cooking fuel recorded at repeated surveys and blood pressure measured at each, with the difference in the slope of blood pressure against age compared between coal and clean fuel users | F-1773 Bellows et al. The Association of Cooking Fuel Use, Dietary Intake, and Blo… (2020) | machine |
| Blood pressure | other 0.05 (-0.008–0.10) | women aged 40 years and over · home | longitudinal study of Chinese women: cooking fuel recorded at repeated surveys and blood pressure measured at each, with the difference in the slope of blood pressure against age compared between coal and clean fuel users | F-1774 Bellows et al. The Association of Cooking Fuel Use, Dietary Intake, and Blo… (2020) | machine |
| Particulate matter (PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀) | other 324.8 | — · home | measurement study of indoor PM2.5 and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in 10 non-smoker households in the Khan-Uul district of Ulaanbaatar in winter 2018, where most households burn coal | F-0202 Sainnokhoi Characteristics of particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydroc… (2022) | machine |
| Particulate matter (PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀) | other 62.8 | — · home | measurement study of indoor PM2.5 and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in 10 non-smoker households in the Khan-Uul district of Ulaanbaatar in winter 2018, where most households burn coal | F-0203 Sainnokhoi Characteristics of particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydroc… (2022) | machine |
| Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons | other 175.7 | — · home | measurement study of indoor PM2.5 and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in 10 non-smoker households in the Khan-Uul district of Ulaanbaatar in winter 2018, where most households burn coal | F-0204 Sainnokhoi Characteristics of particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydroc… (2022) | machine |
| Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons | other 46.2 | — · home | measurement study of indoor PM2.5 and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in 10 non-smoker households in the Khan-Uul district of Ulaanbaatar in winter 2018, where most households burn coal | F-0205 Sainnokhoi Characteristics of particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydroc… (2022) | machine |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | prevalence 85.25 | residents of Jinan City · dwelling | registry study of non-occupational carbon-monoxide poisoning in Jinan City, Shandong, China, 2007 to 2021: 6588 reported cases from the China Public Health Emergency Information System, with incidence density and mortality per person-year and a spatial comparison of urban and rural districts | F-0789 Li An urgent health problem of indoor air pollution: results fr… (2023) | machine |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | prevalence 83.44 | residents of Jinan City · dwelling | registry study of non-occupational carbon-monoxide poisoning in Jinan City, Shandong, China, 2007 to 2021: 6588 reported cases from the China Public Health Emergency Information System, with incidence density and mortality per person-year and a spatial comparison of urban and rural districts | F-0790 Li An urgent health problem of indoor air pollution: results fr… (2023) | machine |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | prevalence 81.47 | residents of Jinan City · dwelling | registry study of non-occupational carbon-monoxide poisoning in Jinan City, Shandong, China, 2007 to 2021: 6588 reported cases from the China Public Health Emergency Information System, with incidence density and mortality per person-year and a spatial comparison of urban and rural districts | F-0791 Li An urgent health problem of indoor air pollution: results fr… (2023) | machine |
Each row is one Finding — a sentence as printed in one study, recorded with its page in the Coridum Knowledge Base. Follow the Finding number for the exact wording and the citation. Checked says who verified the row: machine means every automatic check passed and the surrounding text was read; person means someone read the sentence in the document. Rows are re-checked by a person over time. The studies are curated in the Coridum Knowledge Base; the reading of them together is a Claim, shown separately.
Identifiers
- MeSH
- D003031
Cite this page
Coridum Research. Coal. Coridum Knowledge G-0116, 16 September 2026. https://coridum.com/k/G-0116/