5 Particles Of Matter

[Evelina Browder]

PMstands for particulate matter (also called particle pollution): the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. Others are so small they can only be detected using an electron microscope.

Most particles form in the atmosphere as a result of complex reactions of chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are pollutants emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles.

Particulate matter contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small that they can be inhaled and cause serious health problems. Some particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter can get deep into your lungs and some may even get into your bloodstream. Of these, particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, also known as fine particles or PM2.5, pose the greatest risk to health.

AirNow: Every day the Air Quality Index (AQI) tells you how clean or polluted your outdoor air is, along with associated health effects that may be of concern. The AQI translates air quality data into numbers and colors that help people understand when to take action to protect their health.

Particle pollution from fine particulates (PM2.5) is a concern when levels in air are unhealthy. Breathing in unhealthy levels of PM2.5 can increase the risk of health problems like heart disease, asthma, and low birth weight. Unhealthy levels can also reduce visibility and cause the air to appear hazy.

New York State alerts the public when particle pollution is expected to be unhealthy. An Air Quality Alert is issued the day before or on the same day for the region of the state that is affected. These alerts are often broadcast on the news or weather station.

The term fine particles, or particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5), refers to tiny particles or droplets in the air that are 2 microns or less in width. The largest PM2.5 particles are about 30-times smaller than a human hair. The smaller particles are so small that several thousand of them could fit on the period at the end of this sentence.

Fine particles in the air (measured as PM2.5) are so small that they can travel deeply into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs, causing short-term health effects such as eye, nose, throat and lung irritation, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and shortness of breath. Exposure can also affect heart and lung function, worsening medical conditions like heart disease and asthma, and increase the risk for heart attacks. Scientific studies have linked increases in daily PM2.5 exposure with higher cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions, emergency department visits, and deaths. Studies also suggest that long-term exposure to fine particles causes increased mortality from heart disease and may be associated with increased rates of chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function, and lung cancer. People with heart and breathing problems, pregnant women, children, and older adults may be particularly sensitive to particle pollution.

The New York State Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation (DEC) alert the public when particle pollution levels in outdoor air are expected to be unhealthy. An air quality health advisory is issued for the next day or on the same day for a specific region when concentrations at one or more monitoring stations in that region are predicted to be elevated. DEC staff review particle pollution monitoring data and weather conditions to determine if an air quality health advisory is warranted. There could be a few days each year when the monitoring data, meteorology and computer modeling fail to correctly predict the need for an advisory.

Yes. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5. National Ambient Air Standards are established to be protective of public health. The short-term standard (24-hour or daily average) is 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air (g/m3) and the long-term standard (annual average) is 9 g/m3.

Particulate matter (PM) refers to various air particles, including dust, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets that range in size from less than 0.1 microns in diameter (smaller than a single bacterium) to about 10 microns (1/7 of the diameter of a human hair). Because they are so small, particles can be inhaled deep into the lungs. Inhaling high concentrations of particulate matter is associated with many health risks.

Particles are formed by chemical reactions among nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, organic compounds, and ammonia. In Minnesota, most of the particulate matter in our air is formed through these chemical reactions. Particles are also in emissions from vehicles, factories, and wood burning and come from unpaved roads and other sources.

Inhaling high concentrations of particulate matter is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, acute and chronic bronchitis, asthma attacks, and other respiratory issues that can result in hospitalization and even premature death for people with pre-existing heart or lung conditions.

Breathing in wood smoke can be harmful to your health. Burning produces tiny particles that can be drawn into your lungs and even enter your bloodstream. Short-term exposure to fine particles in the air can aggravate lung disease, trigger asthma attacks and acute bronchitis, and increase the risk of respiratory infections. Over time, breathing fine particles increases the chances of developing chronic obstructive lung disease, chronic bronchitis, cardiovascular disease, or lung cancer.

Fine particles are one of six common air pollutants called criteria pollutants. Criteria pollutants are subject to primary and secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards under the Federal Clean Air Act. Primary standards define the air quality required to prevent adverse effects on human health; secondary standards are set to prevent adverse impacts on the environment.

Minnesota is currently in compliance with national standards for all six criteria pollutants. However, fine particles levels are of concern because levels in the state are relatively close to the national standards.

Welcome to the website for the former South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). This website is no longer being updated but will be available for some time as a public service.

Particulate matter (PM) is made of solid particles and liquid droplets in the air. PM can come from many places. In general, any type of burning or any dust-generating activities are sources of PM. Here are some examples:

PM comes in many different sizes. Larger particles come mostly from the soil. Smaller particles come from burning of fossil fuels, like gasoline in cars, diesel in trucks and coal used by power plants.

EPA regulates two sizes of PM, PM 10 and PM 2.5 . PM 10 includes particles 10 micrometers in diameter and smaller. PM 2.5 , also called fine particles, includes particles 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller.

PM is also divided into primary and secondary categories. Primary PM is directly emitted from a smokestack or a tailpipe. Secondary PM forms downwind from sources of gaseous emissions through chemical reactions.

PM10 and PM2.5 often derive from different emissions sources, and also have different chemical compositions. Emissions from combustion of gasoline, oil, diesel fuel or wood produce much of the PM2.5 pollution found in outdoor air, as well as a significant proportion of PM10. PM10 also includes dust from construction sites, landfills and agriculture, wildfires and brush/waste burning, industrial sources, wind-blown dust from open lands, pollen and fragments of bacteria.

PM may be either directly emitted from sources (primary particles) or formed in the atmosphere through chemical reactions of gases (secondary particles) such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), and certain organic compounds. These organic compounds can be emitted by both natural sources, such as trees and vegetation, as well as from man-made (anthropogenic) sources, such as industrial processes and motor vehicle exhaust. The relative sizes of PM10 and PM2.5 particles are compared in the figure below.

CARB is concerned about air-borne particles because of their effects on the health of Californians and the environment. Both PM2.5 and PM10 can be inhaled, with some depositing throughout the airways, though the locations of particle deposition in the lung depend on particle size. PM2.5 is more likely to travel into and deposit on the surface of the deeper parts of the lung, while PM10 is more likely to deposit on the surfaces of the larger airways of the upper region of the lung. Particles deposited on the lung surface can induce tissue damage, and lung inflammation.

Short-term exposures to PM10 have been associated primarily with worsening of respiratory diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), leading to hospitalization and emergency department visits.

Long-term (months to years) exposure to PM2.5 has been linked to premature death, particularly in people who have chronic heart or lung diseases, and reduced lung function growth in children. The effects of long-term exposure to PM10 are less clear, although several studies suggest a link between long-term PM10 exposure and respiratory mortality. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published a review in 2015 that concluded that particulate matter in outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer.

Particulate matter has been shown in many scientific studies to reduce visibility, and also to adversely affect climate, ecosystems and materials. PM, primarily PM2.5, affects visibility by altering the way light is absorbed and scattered in the atmosphere. With reference to climate change, some constituents of the ambient PM mixture promote climate warming (e.g., black carbon), while others have a cooling influence (e.g., nitrate and sulfate), and so ambient PM has both climate warming and cooling properties. PM can adversely affect ecosystems, including plants, soil and water through deposition of PM and its subsequent uptake by plants or its deposition into water where it can affect water quality and clarity. The metal and organic compounds in PM have the greatest potential to alter plant growth and yield. PM deposition on surfaces leads to soiling of materials.

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