PM10 | Suspended Particulate Matter | Particulate Matter Sources | OIZOM Academy
Channel: Oizom
Date: 2021-01-06

Read more at https://oizom.com/knowledege-bank/particulate-matter-monitoring-pm10/

“PM”, Particulate Matter, is not a single pollutant, but refers to a complex mixture of solids and aerosols of varying shape, size, and chemical composition and may contain many chemical species like organic compounds, inorganic ions, metallic compounds, elementary carbon, etc. 

Sources
Particulate matter PM10 are either directly emitted from a source (primary PM) or are formed through the chemical reactions of gases such as oxides of sulfur (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), organic compounds, etc. in the atmosphere (secondary PM). The natural sources of particulate matter are wind-blown dust from open land, pollen, spores, mold, dirt, soil erosion, and forest fires. 

Permissible levels of PM10
The breakpoints concentrations describing the quality of air based on the PM10 concentrations for different countries are given below. In India, the daily average PM10 levels of up to 100 μg/m3 are considered satisfactory. The Air quality guidelines by the World Health Organization suggests a 24-hr mean of 50 μg/m3.

Health & Environmental Impact of PM10 
Health Impact
The potential of the particulate matter to affect human health depends directly on the size of particulate matter. The particles with  less 10μm diameter generally pass through the nose and throat and enter the lung. PM10, although being less of an immediate health concern than PM2.5 due to its size, is still small enough to pass through the nose and throat and enter the lungs.

When inhaled, PM10 deposits on the surface of the airways in the upper region of the lung, inducing tissue damage, and lung inflammation. It can irritate the nose, throat, and even eyes. Short term exposure to PM10 aggravates already present respiratory diseases such as asthma while long term exposure can affect respiratory mortality. 

Environmental Impact
The major environmental impacts of PM10 pollution are visibility reduction and deposition. High levels of PM10 causes visible air pollution affecting the aesthetics of the surrounding environment. The settling of the air-borne PM10 on plants, soil, and water ecosystems have harmful effects on them. The metal and organic compounds reduce plant growth and yield while the deposition of PM into water bodies affects its quality and clarity.  

Possible corrective measures 
The primary step is PM10 monitoring to identify the areas with high particulate levels or areas where air quality does not meet the PM10 national standards. In addition to this, the following corrective measures can be taken:

Limit outdoor activities and close windows and vents during times of high air pollution.
Avoid keeping your vehicle idle for long. 
Avoid areas with traffic congestions, construction activities, or unpaved roads. Breathing such polluted air daily also leads to health effects in the long run. 
Eliminate the use of the fireplace, wood stove, gas-powered lawn, or garden equipment. 
Eliminate open burning of leaves, trash or other materials
Measurement methods of PM10 monitoring
Different working principles for particulate matter monitoring in the ambient environment are Gravimetric, TOEM, Beta Attenuation (BAM), and Laser scattering 

Laser Scattering – The PM10 monitor based on the physical principle of light scattering, also known as optical particle counter (OPC), measures dust particles illuminated by laser light at a 90° angle. The light scattered from each particle is collected at approximately 90° by a mirror and detected by a photo-diode. This signal is then fed into a multi-channel size classifier where a pulse height analyzer is used to classify each pulse that is proportional to the particle size. The counts in the channel corresponding to PM10 are converted to the concentration of PM10.

Oizom’s working principle for PM10 monitoring
Oizom’s DUSTROID is an online particulate monitoring system that measures the concentration of various particulate sizes ranging from 1 micron to 100 microns such as PM1, PM2.5, PM10, and PM100 in the ambient air. Our PM sensor works on the principle of laser scattering. The active sampling powered sensor-based air quality monitor DUSTROID is deployed across several cities, campuses, universities and is used for drawing actionable insights to tackle the rise in ambient PM10 concentrations.

5 reasons why PM10 monitoring is important:
PM10 is a complex mixture of solid and aerosols with a very small size that can easily pass through the nose and throat and penetrate the lungs.
Particulate matter is emitted into the atmosphere from combustion processes, cruising or grinding of rocks, resuspension of dust and dirt from roads, soil, etc. They are also formed into the atmosphere from various chemical reactions of other air pollutants such as NOx and SOx. 
When inhaled, it irritates the eyes, nose, throat, and the airways and can also lead to aggravation of respiratory diseases.