Emission samples from six furnaces fueled with cereal straw and two furnaces fueled with wood chips were analyzed for PAH and mutagenic activity in the Salmonella/microsome assay. Furnaces of different size and construction were selected. The emissions varied considerable both within and between the furnaces, with very high emissions especially from small farm furnaces. and very low emissions from a furnaces fueled with wood chips. The level of PAH and mutagenic activety correlated very well. The correlation between PAH/mutagenic activity and CO in the flue gas indicated a significant influenze of the combustion quality on the emission levels.