The main objective of these updated global guidelines is to offer health-based air quality guideline levels, expressed as long-term or short-term concentrations for six key air pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. In addition, the guidelines provide interim targets to guide reduction efforts of these pollutants, as well as good practice statements for the management of certain types of PM (i.e., black carbon/elemental carbon, ultrafine particles, particles originating from sand and duststorms). These guidelines are not legally binding standards; however, they provide WHO Member States with an evidence-informed tool, which they can use to inform legislation and policy. Ultimately, the goal of these guidelines is to help reduce levels of air pollutants in order to decrease the enormous health burden resulting from the exposure to air pollution worldwide.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines PM as a mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets comprising a number of components, including "acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, soil or dust particles, and allergens (such as fragments of pollen and mold spores)". The health effects of outdoor exposure to particulate matter (PM) are the subject of both research attention and regulatory action. Although much less studied to date, indoor exposure to PM is gaining attention as a potential source of adverse health effects. Indoor PM can originate from outdoor particles and also from various indoor sources, including heating, cooking, and smoking. Levels of indoor PM have the potential to exceed outdoor PM levels. Understanding the major features and subtleties of indoor exposures to particles of outdoor origin can improve our understanding of the exposureâ€"response relationship on which ambient air pollutant standards are based. The EPA's Indoor Environments Division commissioned the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to hold a workshop examining the issue of indoor exposure to PM more comprehensively and considering both the health risks and possible intervention strategies. Participants discussed the ailments that are most affected by particulate matter and the attributes of the exposures that are of greatest concern, exposure modifiers, vulnerable populations, exposure assessment, risk management, and gaps in the science. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

This book presents the most up-to-date research and information regarding the origin, chemistry, fate and health impacts of airborne particulate matter in urban areas, a topic which has received a great deal of attention in recent years due to documented relationships between exposure and health effects such as asthma. With internationally recognised researchers and academics presenting their work and key concepts and approaches from a variety of disciplines, including environmental and analytical chemistry, biology, toxicology, mineralogy and the geosciences, this book addresses the topic of urban airborne particulate matter in a comprehensive, multidisciplinary manner. Topics and research addressed in the book range from common methodological approaches used to sample and analyse the composition of airborne particulates to our knowledge regarding their potential to impact human health and the various policy approaches taken internationally to regulate particulate matter levels.

A title in the Emerging Issues in Analytical Chemistry series, Particulates Matter: Impact, Measurement, and Remediation of Airborne Pollutants provides the latest technical findings in the study of particulate matter (PM). It links these findings to awareness-raising and actionable schemes for legislated remediation and engineered solutions. Written in an engaging and informative manner, the book begins with a multi-disciplinary overview of the major sources and unique classes of PM, detection techniques, and their impact, including molecular changes resulting in health effects. It then goes one step further by proposing and examining the means to curtail and contain PM generation and ameliorate their impacts. Particulates Matter: Impact, Measurement, and Remediation of Airborne Pollutants offers a high-quality reference guide to PM that will greatly benefit technology leaders in environmental compliance groups, epidemiologists and other public health professionals focused on pollution and health, and researchers and scholars working in pollution, climate change, and urbanization. It may also be useful to advanced undergraduate and early graduate students in environmental sciences. - Includes a summary of the current knowledge on nanoparticles as pollutants and their negative health effects - Provides a framework for the evolution and maturation of air pollution characterization and mitigation - Describes an integrated set of engineered solutions that account for the concatenated relationships between technology, policy, and society necessary for long-term success

The book covers the three largest sources of particulate matter pollution in five chapters. These sources constitute three of the top ten public health problems in the world today and far outstrip any other environmental health threats in terms of health impact. The book begins with indoor solid fuel combustion for cooking in lower income countries and tells the story of how this problem was identified and recent efforts to eliminate it. The book next looks at tobacco smoking and second hand smoke, again reviewing the history of how these problems were identified scientifically and the fierce industry push back against the science. The last two chapters cover ambient particulate matter in the outdoor air. They address fine and ultrafine particles, describing the pioneering work on fine PM, the subsequent industry attacks on the scientists and then the emerging interest and concern about ultrafine particles, an area of research in which the author has participated. This book is geared towards non-scientists, including high school and college students.

This volume is of great importance to humans and other living organisms. The study of water quality draws information from a variety of disciplines including chemistry, biology, mathematics, physics, engineering, and resource management. University training in water quality is often limited to specialized courses in engineering, ecology, and fisheries curricula. This book also offers a basic understanding of water quality to professionals who are not formally trained in the subject. The revised third edition updates and expands the discussion, and incorporates additional figures and illustrative problems. Improvements include a new chapter on basic chemistry, a more comprehensive chapter on hydrology, and an updated chapter on regulations and standards. Because it employs only first-year college-level chemistry and very basic physics, the book is well-suited as the foundation for a general introductory course in water quality. It is equally useful as a guide for self-study and an in-depth resource for general readers.

Nunn's Applied Respiratory Physiology