Particulate Matter Science For Policy Makers

Particulate Matter Science for Policy Makers: A NARSTO Assessment was commissioned by NARSTO, a cooperative public-private sector organization of Canada, Mexico and the United States. It is a concise and comprehensive discussion of the current understanding by atmospheric scientists of airborne particulate matter (PM). Its goal is to provide policy makers who implement air-quality standards with this relevant and needed scientific information. The primary audience for this volume will be regulators, scientists, and members of industry, all of whom have a stake in effective PM management. It will also inform exposure and health scientists, who investigate causal hypotheses of health impacts, characterize exposure, and conduct epidemiological and toxicological studies.

The report reviews NARSTO's recent report on atmospheric science issues associated with management of airborne particulate matter (PM) to achieve air quality standards. NARSTO is a public-private partnership with members from government, utilities, industry, and academe in Canada, Mexico and the United States that coordinates ozone-related atmospheric science research and assessment.

This book is about airborne particulate matter, sources, chemistry and health and contained a complete information about their emission source, transport, atmospheric chemistry, distribution at local, regional and global levels, and their level in indoor and outdoor settings. Primary and secondary particulate matters in the ambient atmosphere also describe in detail. Analytical techniques, statistical tools and mathematical models used in airborne particulate research is also described. This book also covers the important aspects of the particulate matter chemistry in atmosphere, and their adverse impact on plant and human health. A detailed insight about the harmful impact of airborne particulate matter (biogenic and anthropogenic both) on different human system is described in detail. The toxicological significance of particulate matter on human body was also mentioned. The mitigation, management and regulatory policies to control ambient particulate matter is also provided. This book is also written in simple language with helpful photographs, diagrams, tables and flowcharts which will make the reader comfortable in understanding the concepts a more relatively easier way. Overall, the present book is a valuable tool for students working in the fields of Atmospheric Science, Environmental Science, Biological Sciences, Epidemiology and Agriculture Science. This book also a unique resource for environmental consultants, researchers, policymakers and other professionals involved in air quality, plant and human health.

New National Ambient Air Quality Standards for airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers, called PM2.5, were issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) amidst scientific uncertainty and controversy. In response to a request from Congress, Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter, the first of four books in a series, offers a conceptual framework for an integrated national program of particulate-matter research, identifies the 10 most critical research needs linked to key policy-related scientific uncertainties, and describes the recommended timing and estimated costs of such research. The committee concludes that EPA should devote more resources to investigating the relationships between fixed-site outdoor monitoring data and actual human breathing-zone exposures to ambient particulate matter and to identifying the most biologically important constituents and characteristics of particulate matter through toxicological studies. The recommended research activities are critical to determining actual exposures of human subpopulations most susceptible to harm from the most hazardous constituents of particulate matter. Future research will be an investment in public health and a means to ensure that resources spent on control technology and regulatory compliance will have a reasonable probability of success.

New National Ambient Air Quality Standards for airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers, called PM2.5, were issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) amidst scientific uncertainty and controversy. In response to a request from Congress, Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter, the first of four books in a series, offers a conceptual framework for an integrated national program of particulate-matter research, identifies the 10 most critical research needs linked to key policy-related scientific uncertainties, and describes the recommended timing and estimated costs of such research. The committee concludes that EPA should devote more resources to investigating the relationships between fixed-site outdoor monitoring data and actual human breathing-zone exposures to ambient particulate matter and to identifying the most biologically important constituents and characteristics of particulate matter through toxicological studies. The recommended research activities are critical to determining actual exposures of human subpopulations most susceptible to harm from the most hazardous constituents of particulate matter. Future research will be an investment in public health and a means to ensure that resources spent on control technology and regulatory compliance will have a reasonable probability of success.