Particulates & Gases

Particulates come in 5 forms:

-Aerosols

-Dusts

-Fumes

-Smokes

-Mists

source: see the air

source: see the air

We’re mainly concerned with the dust, smoke, and aerosols that we create from our daily routines. Particulate matter are tiny solid-liquid particles that stay suspended in the air. They can be harmful to our health if we consistently breathe particulate matter.

Particles come in three sizes: coarse(PM10), fine(PM2.5), and ultrafine(PM1). In general, the smaller the particle the more harmful it is, because smaller particles can penetrate into our bloodstreams, leading to inflammatory responses in the lungs and aggravated asthma. We mostly focus on particle sizes but they come in funky sizes, shapes, and chemicals make-ups . For instance, pm2.5 is the same, but naturally occurring pm2.5 differs from pm2.5 resulting from vehicle combustion, leading to offshoots like Black Carbon.

Aside from make-up and size, the other big consideration for particulates is dosage. Breathing “hazardous” air every so often is different than consistently breathing it. So don’t fret if you’re exposed to bad air. Your bigger concern should be understanding the baseline levels of the indoor spaces you spend your time: home & work. So while it’s not possible to eliminate particulates, we can be better about how we generate them and our responses to bad moments.

Particulate Matter

Check out a few of the prominent pollutants in our indoor environments below. You’ll get background, data, Dusts, combustion processes, and burning produce different types of particles and health impacts. Since we can’t see particulate matter (unless it’s really hazy) it’s hard to imagine what particulate matter is, where it comes from, and how it harms us. Let’s start with where particulate matter comes from.

In general, pm1 and pm2.5 emerge from combustion and chemical processes: vehicle exhaust, smoke (tobacco, candles, incense, etc), cooking, beauty accessories, vacuuming, sweeping, burning sage, and household cleaning supplies. If you’re experiencing reduced visbility outside, it’s most likely because or smaller pm2.5 particles.

In general, larger particles like pm4 and pm10 are associated with mechanical processes and natural sources like pollen.

Click on the images below of particulates to learn more about the main types of particles.

Particular Pollutants

Here you can see the different chemicals create new particulates in air. Courtesy of Duke’s Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility