What is PM 10 ?
PM 10 consists of tiny particles that behave almost like a gas. PM 10 particles can float around the air for hours and minutes. In the air, PM 10 normally ranges from 18 to 47 ug/m-3. The World Health Organisation recommends indoor PM 10 limits of 15 ug/m-3 on an annual average and 45 ug/m-3 on a 24-hour average.
Where does it originate ?
The major sources of 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.
Resuspension of soil tracked onto roads and streets
Suspension from disturbed soils, e.g., farming, mining
Construction, coal and oil combustion, ocean spray
Metal oxides of Si, Al, Mg, Ti, Fe
Sodium Chloride and Sea salt
Pollen, mold spores, and plant parts.
What happens if we inhale PM 10 ?
Short-term exposures to PM 10 have been related to a worsening of respiratory conditions such as coughing, wheezing, bronchitis.
Long term exposure causes asthma, COPD, reduced lung function, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and cancer.
PM 10 is regarded as a thoracic fraction since it is known to have an impact on human thoracic health.
Those who were exposed to elevated PM 10 levels (150 μg/m−3) suffered from an approximately 3 to 6% decline in lung function as measured by peak expiratory flow.
PM 10 particles were able to break down supercoiled DNA, indicating significant free radical activity.
The risk of developing cancer and other disorders would significantly rise with higher exposure concentrations of Pm-10 bound heavy metals.
Premature births increased by 8%, ARI (Acute respiratory infections) symptoms by 7%, and infant death by 6% with every 10 g/m3 rise in PM 10 levels.
PM 10 causes low birth weight and premature birth. Early childhood infections are more likely to occur in children who were born underweight, and these infections can affect brain development, ARI, and probably malnutrition.
Empirical research has demonstrated that exposure to PM 10 during pregnancy has an adverse effect on a number of haematological markers, including haemoglobin level, platelets, white blood cells, and blood coagulation capacity, and these changes affect foetal development.
National Morbidity Mortality Air Pollution Study (NMMAPS) PM10
CONCLUSION:
Particulate matter is the primary kind of air pollution that is bad for both people and the environment. The trachea-bronchial tree is most likely where particles between 5 and 10 m are deposited. These contaminates may even enter the lungs and disrupt gas exchange, leading to respiratory conditions, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological problems. Children are more susceptible to the impacts of air pollution than adults because they breathe more quickly and breathe in more contaminated air because they are closer to the ground, where the concentration of certain pollutants is particularly high.
REFERENCE:
1. https://sci-hub.hkvisa.net/10.1080/15275922.2011.595052
2. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/inhalable-particulate-matter-and-health
3. https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/environmental-information/air-quality/pm10-
particles-in-the-air
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7437942/