Abstract
Airborne particulate matter is one of the main atmospheric pollutants also known as a criteria pollutant as well as an environmental indicator. It affects the radiative balance of the planet and its hydrological cycle, it may play a role in visibility, but above all, it has been historically associated with adverse effects on human health. This chapter describes the physical and chemical properties of this complex pollutant, introducing the basic knowledge for suitable physico-chemical characterization and source apportionment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Notes
- 1.
According to [5], the publication rate of scientific papers on aerosol science has grown from units article/year in the 1980s to the present 1500–2000 articles/year in the present time, based on ISI Web of Science.
- 2.
The overall oxidative behaviour of the planetary atmosphere is defined as oxidant capacity of the atmosphere; details of these fundamental properties of the Earth’s atmosphere are beyond the scope of this contribution and can be found in [11].
- 3.
The “microenvironment” as compared to the environment as a whole indicates a portion of space in which PM is well characterized and which is able to provide an inherent interaction/outcome in individuals.
- 4.
In this respect, it is worth to consult guidelines and reports by the World Health Organization available at http://www.who.int/indoorair/publications/en/ (page visited on 12th October 2016).
- 5.
This threshold value is conventional rather than physically based as the transition between the fine and the coarse mode is not so sharply defined; sometimes the threshold is fixed at 1 μm.
- 6.
Specific surface area of solids is a parameter defined as the total area of a grain-sized material per unit mass and is measured in m2/mass (g or kg) of material. Owing to a basically, though not exclusively, geometrical reason, overall surface of an unconsolidated material increases exponentially with decreasing size on a constant mass basis. We omit visual examples for the sake of brevity and suggest the following reference for a deeper insight [25].
- 7.
For the sake of completeness, it must be remarked under particular conditions which requires the analysis of hundreds to thousands particles per sample: also SEM analysis can be employed even for quantitative elemental analysis though this is far less convenient than other instrumental/analytical techniques, as the analysis of large numbers of samples is usually needed in order to collect sufficient information to cover the two main objectives of PM characterization, namely, source profiling and identification of health-related species.
- 8.
According to IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry), cut-off is defined as “The size of particles at which the retention efficiency of an instrument device drops below a specified value under defined conditions” (http://goldbook.iupac.org/C01481.html, visited September 12th, 2016).
- 9.
Aerodynamic diameter does not necessarily coincide with the geometrical diameter of aerosol particles but defines a virtual diameter of particles with their own density and shape but terminal velocity equivalent to that of a spherical particle of unitary diameter and density.
- 10.
As a general rule, gravimetry of aerosol samples is the most accurate way to achieve the determination of PM mass loads, even though the method is lengthy and demanding, requiring standardized protocols to overcome potential bias in PM sample handling. Moreover, the weighing operations are characterized by an extremely accurate performance compared to many other measuring operations; this characteristic is of basic importance as PM samples can be very limited and therefore difficult to characterize accurately. Recently PM x samplers may be equipped with tools allowing for an automatized determination of aerosol loading based, for example, on the attenuation of a weak beta-beam or others. In this way air mass load can be monitored also at the sub-daily scale (PM x is usually collected on a 24-h basis) as the measurement can be carried out during the sampling without any interruption, increasing the operation information and efficiency and reducing costs of the operation; nevertheless, a systematic and frequent check against the standard method is highly recommended due to drifts and bias especially important at low PMx concentrations.
- 11.
The troposphere is the innermost layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, in contact with the planetary surface and containing 75–80% of the atmospheric mass.
- 12.
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNECE: http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/welcome.html and http://emep.int/index.html (both sites visited on 26th September 2016)
References
Seinfeld J, Pandis S. Atmospheric chemistry and physics: from air pollution to climate change. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley; 2006.
Claxton L. The history, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity of carbon-based fuels and their emissions: 1. Principles and background. Mutat Res. 2014;762:76–107.
Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe.
WHO Regional Office for Europe. Economic cost of the health impact of air pollution. Copenhagen: OECD; 2015. Retrieved from 13Aug 2016: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/276772/Economic-cost-health-impact-air-pollution-en.pdf
Fuzzi S, Baltensperger U, Carslaw K, Decesari S, Denier van der Gon H, Facchini M, et al. Particulate matter, air quality and climate: lessons learned and future needs. Atmos Chem Phys. 2015;15:8217–99.
West J, Cohen A, Dentener F, Brunekref B, Zhu T, Armstrong B, et al. What we breathe impacts our health: improving understanding of the link between air pollution and health. Environ Sci Technol. 2016;50:4895–904.
Oberdöster G, Oberdöster E, Oberdöster J. Nanotoxicology: an emerging discipline evolving from studies. Environ Health Perspect. 2005;113(7):823–39.
Pope C III, Dockery D. Health effects of fine particulate air - critical review. J Air Waste Manage Assoc. 2006;56:709–42.
Thurston G, et al. Ischemic heart disease mortality and long-term exposure to source-related components of U.S. fine particle air pollution. Environ Health Perspect. 2016;124(6):785–94.
Zanobetti A, Dominici F, Wang Y, Schwartz J. A national case-crossover analysis of the short-term effect of PM2.5 on hospitalizations and mortality in subjects with diabetes and neurological disorders. Environ Health. 2014;13(1):11. https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-13-89.
Prinn R. 4.01 ozone, hydroxyl radical, and oxidative capacity. Treat Geochem. 2003;4:1–19.
Monks P. Gas-phase radical chemistry in the troposphere. Chem Soc Rev. 2005;34:376–95.
George C, Ammann M, D’Anna B, Donaldson DJ. Heterogeneous photochemistry in the atmosphere. Chem Rev. 2015;115:4218–58.
Pöschl U, Shiraiwa M. Multiphase chemistry at the atmosphere–biosphere interface influencing climate and public health in the anthropocene. Chem Rev. 2015;115:4440–75.
Moschandreas D, Watson J, D'Abreton P, Scire J, Zhu T, Klein W, Saksena S. Chapter three: methodology of exposure modeling. Chemosphere. 2002;49:923–46.
NAS. Human exposure assessment for airborne pollutants: advances and opportunities. Washington DC: National Academy Press; 1991.
Claxton L. The history, genotoxicity, and carcinogenicity of carbon-based fuels and their emissions: part 5. Summary, comparisons, and conclusions. Mutat Res. 2015;763:103–47.
Kim K-H, Kabir E, Kabir S. A review on the human health impact of airborne particulate matter. Environ Int. 2015;74:136–43.
Andreae MO. Climatic effects of changing atmospheric aerosol levels. World Survey Climatol. 1995;16:347–98.
Finlayson-Pitts B, Pitts J. Chemistry of the upper and lower atmosphere—theory, experiments, and applications. 2nd ed. San Diego, California: Academic Press; 2000.
Li WJ. A review of single aerosol particle studies in the atmosphere of East Asia: morphology, mixing state, source, and heterogeneous reactions. J Clean Prod. 2016;112:1330–49.
Biswas P, Wu C-Y. Nanoparticles and the environment. J Air Waste Manage Assoc. 2005;55:708–46.
Smita S, Gupta S, Bartonova A, Dusinska M, Gutleb A, Rahman Q. Nanoparticles in the environment: assessment using the causal diagram approach. Environ Health. 2012;11(S13):1–11.
Ohata S, Moteki N, Mori T, Koike M, Kondo Y. A key process controlling the wet removal of aerosols: new observational evidence. Nature Sci Rep. 2016;6:34113. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep34113.
Donaldson K, Stone V, Clouter A, Renwick L, MacNee W. Ultrafine particles. Occup Environ Med. 2001;58:211–6.
Pöschl U. Atmospheric aerosols: composition, transformation, climate and health effects. Angew Chem. 2005;44(46):7520–40. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.200501122.
Ruzer L, Harley N. Aerosols handbook: measurement, dosimetry, and health effects. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2005.
Abdul-Jabbar S, Martini L. A review: are all inhaled fibres, such as asbestos, toxic? Int Arch Clin Pharmacol. 2015;1(1):1–5.
Buseck P, Pòsfai M. Airborne minerals and related aerosol particles: effects on climate and the environment. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 1999;96(7):3372–9.
Kulkarni P, Baron PA. Aerosol measurement: principles, techniques, and applications. 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell; 2011.
Kim I-S, Jang J-Y, Kim T-H, Park J, Shim J, Kim J-B, et al. Guidelines for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease associated with fine dust/Asian dust exposure. J Korean Med Assoc. 2015;58(11):1044–59.
Kim S, Jaques PA, Chang M, Froines JR, Sioutas C. Versatile aerosol concentration enrichment system (VACES) for simultaneous in vivo and in vitro evaluation of toxic e&ects of ultra’ne, ‘ne and coarse ambient particles part I: development and laboratory characterization. Aerosol Sci. 2001;32:1281–97.
Battiston G, Degetto S, Gerbasi R, Sbrignadello G, Tositti L. Fallout distribution in Padua and Northeast Italy after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident. J Environ Radioact. 1988;8:183–91.
Masson O, Baeza A, Bieringer J, Brudecki K, Bucci S, Cappai M, et al. Tracking of airborne radionuclides from the damaged fukushima dai-ichi nuclear reactors by european networks. Environ Sci Technol. 2011;45:7670–7.
Tositti L, Brattich E, Cinelli G, Previti A, Mostacci D. Comparison of radioactivity data measured in PM10 aerosol samples at two elevated stations in northern Italy during the Fukushima event. J Environ Radioact. 2012;114:105–12.
Schmid O, Stoeger T. Surface area is the biologically most effective dose metric for acute nanoparticle toxicity in the lung. J Aerosol Sci. 2016;99:133–43.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tositti, L. (2018). Physical and Chemical Properties of Airborne Particulate Matter. In: Capello, F., Gaddi, A. (eds) Clinical Handbook of Air Pollution-Related Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62731-1_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62731-1_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-62730-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-62731-1
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)