Abstract
A positive correlation has been established between increased levels of airborne particulate pollution and adverse health effects, the toxicological mechanisms of which are poorly understood. For toxicologists to unambiguously determine thesemechanisms, truly representative samples of ambient PM10 are required. This presents problems, as PM10 collecting equipment commonly employed, such as the Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM®), heat the inflow toexclude moisture or use fibrous filters, resulting in a PM10sample that may have undergone significant chemical change on thefilter surface or is contaminated by filter fibres. Other systems(i.e. Negretti and Partisol) can successfully collect PM10 without chemical alteration or filter contamination. Comparativecollections from Port Talbot, S. Wales suggest that TEOMs and Negretti/Partisol systems collect different PM10's; the principle difference arising from the TEOM's heating chamber, which precipitates water-soluble ions and volatilises some organic components. This results in both the mass and compositionof the PM10's being altered. Particle size distributionsfor Negretti and Partisol collections highlighted differences mainly attributed to different flow rates. The results of thiswork demonstrate that simple correlations between PM10 massand adverse health effects are problematic. Furthermore, elucidation of the complex fractionation and chemical changes indifferent collectors is necessary.
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Greenwell, L.L., Jones, T.P. & Richards, R.J. The Collection of PM10 for Toxicological Investigation: Comparisons between Different Collecting Devices. Environ Monit Assess 79, 251–273 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020230727359
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020230727359