ABSTRACT
Air pollutants have adverse effects directly on the atmosphere itself and, by eventual deposition from the atmosphere, on living and inert objects. Combustion systems utilizing biomass for heating, cooking and light may present serious local indoor pollution effects. The scale of environmental impacts, the degree to which agents effect damage, and the relationships between the source of the pollutant and the transport and diffusion characteristics that deliver it to the environmental sink where the receptor agents are located are all important factors to be considered. The scale of environmental impacts resulting from the utilization of biomass fuels varies from local through regional, national, continental to global effects. Metals are corroded by gaseous pollutants; they lose surface material and their properties may be altered. The relatively simple concept of a pollutant source, linked to a sink composed of receptors that may be adversely affected by transport and diffusion is in reality fraught with complications.
