The Health Effects of Air Pollution on Children Footnotes Both elemental and organic. Elemental carbon is pure carbon from combustion sources, including diesel particulate. Organic carbon is a semi-volatile hydrocarbon from combustion and some evaporative sources. Aerosol is the scientific term used to describe particles suspended in a fluid, such as air.
Aerodynamic diameter is used to define particles' size.
Particle deposition on a surface, or in the lung, depends on the particle s aerodynamic and diffusion characteristics. A particle's aerodynamic characteristics depend on its density, shape, actual size and velocity while its diffusion characteristics are functions of its size and the density of the air in which it is suspended. Aerosol is the scientific term used to describe particles suspended in a fluid, such as air. The idea that all particles are equally toxic is not scientifically justified. There are many good examples that can be taken from studies of particles in the workplace.