The health implications of atmospheric particulate matter have become a topic of much interest on both sides of the Atlantic, but especially in the USA, where they were at the centre of the debate over the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) revision of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard in 1997. Much of this debate revolves around claims that particulate matter (usually represented ...

BACKGROUND The aerodynamic diameter of biological particles determines their ability to penetrate the human respiratory system. OBJECTIVE To assess the content of allergens less than 10 pm in diameter in the particle fraction of airborne dust in order to improve control of exposure to harmful soybean aeroallergens. METHODS In this study, 98 pairs of particulate matter measuring less than 10...

BACKGROUND Particulate matter and proximity to large roadways may promote disease mechanisms, including systemic inflammation, hormonal alteration, and vascular proliferation, that may contribute to the development and severity of endometriosis. OBJECTIVE Our goal was to determine the association of air pollution exposures during adulthood, including distance to road, particulate matter<2.5 μ...

Applicable Pollutants: Particulate Matter (PM), including particulate matter less than or equal to 10 micrometers (:m) in aerodynamic diameter (PM10), particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 :m in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5), and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) that are in particulate form, such as most metals (mercury is the notable exception, as a significant portion of emissions are in...

PM10 (the mass of particles present in the air having a 50% cutoff for particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm) is the standard measure of particulate air pollution used worldwide. Epidemiological studies suggest that asthma symptoms can be worsened by increases in the levels of PM10. Epidemiological evidence at present indicates that PM10 increases do not raise the chances of initial s...

BACKGROUND Numerous studies have shown a strong association between daily mortality and small particulate with a diameter of <10 microm (PM10) air pollution, but the effects of season have not always been well characterised. AIM To study the shape of the association between short-term mortality and PM10 across seasons and quintiles of outdoor temperature. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Da...

The regulation of particulate matter (PM) emitted by agricultural sources (cotton gins, feed mills, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) is based upon downwind concentrations of particulate matter less than 10 and 2.5 micrometers (μm) (PM10 and PM2.5) aerodynamic equivalent diameter (AED). Both PM10 and PM2.5 samplers operate by pre-separating PM larger than the size of interest (10 a...

The Federal Reference Method (FRM) ambient PM10 sampler does not always measure the true PM10 concentration. There are inherent sampling errors associated with the PM10 samplers due to the interaction of particle size distribution (PSD) and sampler performance characteristics. These sampling errors, which are the relative differences between theoretical estimation of the sampler concentration a...

BACKGROUND Temuco (304,000 inhabitants) has high levels of air pollution, mainly due to fine particulate matter of less than 10 microm (PM10). The effects of this pollution on population health have not been studied. AIM To study the short-term effects of PM10 on daily mortality in Temuco, in Southern Chile, due to respiratory and cardiovascular causes. MATERIAL AND METHODS We followed the ...