Health, human particulate matter

The major purpose of ambient particulate sampling is to obtain mass concentration and chemical composition data, preferably as a function of particle diameter. This information is valuable for a variety of problems effects on human health, identification of particulate matter sources, understanding of atmospheric haze, and particle removal processes. 

The three major characteristics of particulate pollutants in the ambient atmosphere are total mass concentration, size distribution, and chemical composition. In the United States, the PM q concentration, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <10 /nm, is the quantity measured for an air quality standard to protect human health from effects caused by inhalation of suspended particulate matter. As shown in Chapter 7, the size distribution of particulate pollutants is very important in understanding... 

Atmospheric chemistry influences human health, climate, food production, and through its impact on visibility, our view of the world. Chemicals in the air affect us with each breath we take. Suspended particulate matter that form from gas-phase reactions affect the amount of solar energy reaching the earth s surface. 

Recently, much emphasis has been put on the harmful effects of small particles, i.e., particulate matter (PM), on human health. A number of standards have been established to characterize the PM fractions in the air and their effects on human health. A widely used PM standard in force in both Europe and the United States is based on the mass concentration of particles with a diameter of 10 gm or less (PMjo). However, recently the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new standard that is based on the aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 gm particles. This new standard emphasizes the significant impact of small particles on human health, especially on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. 4 ... 

The pollutants most strongly damaging to human, animal, and sometimes plant health include ozone, fine particulate matter, lead, nitrogen oxides (NO ), sulfur oxides (SOJ, and carbon monoxide. Many other chemicals found in polluted air can cause lesser health impacts (such as eye irritation). VOC compounds comprise the bulk of such chemicals. Formaldehyde is one commonly mentioned pollutant of this sort, as is PAN (peroxyacyl nitrate). Such... 

Burning fossil fuels can release air pollutants such as carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and particulate matter. Sulfur and nitrogen oxides contribute to acid rain ozone is a component of urban smog, and particulate matter affects respiratory health. In fact, several studies have documented a disturbing correlation between suspended particulate levels and human mortality. It is estimated that air pollution may help cause 500,000 premature deaths and millions of new respiratory illnesses each year. 

The health effects of different pollutants vary according to the Intensity and duration of exposures and the health status of the persons exposed. A sumnary of these effects Is provided In Table II, together with the WHO (1979) guideline values for the protection of human health. The WHO European office has reviewed these guidelines, WHO (1987), and has recommended additional values for SOj In the presence of particulate matter. 

Particulate matter (PM) is associated with adverse human respiratory health effects. Although much research has focused on the fine particle component (PM2.5), recent results from the USC Children s Health Study suggest that the coarse fraction may also affect respiratory health in children. Specific components of the coarse fraction responsible for these effects have not been identified, but ambient endotoxin is a strong candidate, based on toxicologic and epidemiologic studies. This study is collecting... 

Particulate matter is a complex emission that is classified as either suspended particulate matter, total suspended particulate matter, or simply, particulate matter. For human health purposes, the fraction of particulate matter that has been shown to contribute to respiratory diseases is termed PMio (i.e., particulate matter with sizes less than 10 tim). From a control standpoint, particulate matter can be characterized as follows (1) particle size distribution and (2) particulate matter concentration in the emission (mg/m ). On occasion, physical property descriptions may also be employed when there are specific control applications. 

Anderson JO, Thundiyil JG, Stolbach A (2011) Clearing the air a review of the effects of particulate matter air pollution on human health. J Med Toxicol. doi 10.1007/sl3181-011-0203-1... 

Fine particulate matter (PM) is well known to cause serious negative impacts on human health [1-4], As a consequence, ambient PM concentrations are regulated in many countries worldwide. For example, air quality standards for the mass concentration of particles with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 pm (PM10) are in the European Union set to 40 pg/m3 (annual mean) and 50 pg/m3 (daily mean). In the USA, the daily limit value forPMlOis 150 pg/m3 in addition, the mass concentration of the finer fraction of particulate matter PM2.5 is not allowed to exceed 35 pg/m3 (annual mean) and 15 pg/m3 (daily mean), respectively. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set air quality guideline values for the annual mean and daily mean concentrations of ambient PM10 (PM2.5) at 20 pg/m3 (10 pg/m3) and 40 pg/m3 (20 pg/m3), respectively [5]. 

Much of the mineral particulate matter in a polluted atmosphere is in the form of oxides and other compounds produced during the combustion of high-ash fossil fuel. Smaller particles of fly ash enter furnace flues and are efficiently collected in a properly equipped stack system. However, some fly ash escapes through the stack and enters the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the fly ash thus released tends to consist of smaller particles that do the most damage to human health, plants, and visibility. 

Oxidation/hydroxylation of aromatic compounds by OH and HOONO is expected to enhance their degradation rate and hence decrease their lifetime on particulate matter, which in the case of pollutants is beneficial from the point of view of human health. Oxidation of PAHs could also lead to the production of photosensitizers such as quinones and aromatic carbonyls [10, 40, 41]. These compounds, if present in the gas phase, are also able to form aggregates and are therefore involved in the formation of secondary organic aerosol [42]. In contrast, nitration induced by OH + N02 or HOONO could lead to highly mutagenic nitro-PAHs [43] or phytotoxic nitrophenols [44, 45], in which case the health and environmental impact of the reaction intermediates is not negligible and is sometimes higher than that of the parent molecules. 

Continuous air monitoring for trace contaminants in ambient air has developed extensively since the mid-1960s as a result of stimulation from new air pollution measurement requirements. Workers expect that similar needs will develop as certain chemical constituents of particulate material are identified as factors in human health effects. Techniques for the continuous chemical characterization of particulate matter are slow in coming because the amounts of material sampled are small, often below the detection limits of instrumentation. In all cases so far, either a precollection method like filtration or a special detector of high sensitivity has been required. 

Criteria pollutants are air pollutants emitted from numerous or diverse stationary or mobile sources for which National Ambient Air Quality Standards have been set to protect human health and public welfare. The original list of criteria pollutants, adopted in 1971, consisted of carbon monoxide, total suspended particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, photochemical oxidants, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides. Lead was added to the list in 1976, ozone replaced photochemical oxidants in 1979, and hydrocarbons were dropped in 1983. Total suspended particulate matter was revised in 1987 to include only particles with an equivalent aerodynamic particle diameter of less than or equal to 10 micrometers (PM10). A separate standard for particles with an equivalent aerodynamic particle diameter of less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (PM25) was adopted in 1997. 

Many studies have examined the human health effects from exposure to sulfur dioxide. The next section examines the effects of experimental, accidental, occupational, and community exposures however, more complete reviews are available in the Toxicological Profile for Sulfur Dioxide (ATSDR 1998) Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter and Sulfur Oxides (EPA 1982) and Supplement to the Second Addendum (1986) to Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter and Sulfur Oxides (1982) (EPA 1994a,b). 

Wiseman, C.L., Zereini, F. Airborne particulate matter, platinum group elements and human health a review of recent evidence. Sci. Total Environ. 407, 2493-2500 (2009)... 

The atmospheric aerosol has profound effects on the nature of the air environment. Effects on human health have led to the establishment of ambient air qualtiy standards by the United States and other industrial nations. The optical properties of the aerosol alTect local and regional visibility and Earth s radiation balance, hence global climate. There is evidence that reactions that take place on the surface of the stratospheric aerosol play a major role in the destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer. Particularly complex (and poorly understood) arc the indirect effects of the aerosol serving as condensation nuclei for the formation of clouds which in turn affect the radiation balance. For an extensive review of the properties of the atmospheric aerosol and its effects, especially health related, the reader is referred to the document prepared by the U.S. EPA (1996) for use in setting the ambient air quality standard for particulate matter. Atmospheric aerosol properties and dynamics are reviewed in detail by Seinfeld and Pandis (1998). 

PM-10 — The particulate matter consisting of small respirable particles with a diameter of 10 pm (micrometres or microns) or less. Ten micrometres is a critical size below which human lungs are affected. For monitoring of particulate matter in the smoke plume from oil fires, it is generally accepted that the concentration of PM-10 particles should be less than 150 pg/m3 for a 24-hour period. Particulate matter is the main public health concern when oil or petroleum products are burned. 

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