Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5)
You may probably know that particulate matter is an air pollutant and cause many health effects. But have you ever known currently there is no evidence of a threshold of particulate matter below which exposition would cause no health issues? Therefore particulate matter is such an important concern to the current world while countries like India, and China already experiencing the worst out of that.
So let's figure it out through this discussion, what are particulate matter and how they form, what are the health effects of particulate matter, and how we can avoid the emission of particulate matter to our Atmosphere.
What are particulate matters
As the term explains, these are either extremely small solid particles or liquid droplets that are suspended in our air. As the composition, those are made up of
- Nitrates
- Sulfates
- Metals
- Organic chemicals
- Dust or soil particles etc.
What are the major sources of particulate matter generation
The sources of particulate matter can be either anthropogenic or natural.
- Heaters in wood-burning and other industries
- Motor vehicles
- Bushfires (wildfires) or dust storms
- Volcanic eruptions
Further, these sources can be identified as primary sources and secondary sources. Dusty roads, construction sites, and burning sites (either man-made or natural) are primary sources and if particulate matter is formed in the atmosphere through different chemical reactions, those are called secondary sources.
Classification of particulate matter
The classification of particle matters like PM10 and PM2.5 is based on the size of particles. As an example, PM10 consists of particles that are with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less.
PM2.5
PM2.5 consists of particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less. The smaller size makes these particles capable enough to reach till bloodstream through the lungs. When exposed for a long time period, it has been well evidenced that adverse health effects can arise.
PM10​
PM10 are particles having a diameter of 10 micrometers (PM10 contains PM2.5 too) or less and are capable of passing through our respiratory system following the nose and throat to the lungs. So whenever we inhale these PM10, the possibility of having effects on the heart and lungs is severe and it ultimately cause health effects.
Potential health effects of particulate matter
It's sad but true, that exposure to particulate matter increases the attending to the hospital or death by lung or heart diseases. It clearly explains the severity of the fact.
The exposure to particulate matter can be either short term or long term and these two have different ways of effect on us.
Short-term exposure can irritate our nose, throat even eyes. It can worsen asthma and lung diseases like chronic bronchitis. People with heart diseases can get heart attacks and arrhythmias. If you are a person with diseases of the respiratory or cardiovascular system, hospital admissions can be increased and even premature death is possible.
The long term exposure (throughout many years) can decrease the well function of your lungs. ​cardiovascular or respiratory diseases can be developed. The long term exposure to particular matters can reduce life expectancy.