Table of Contents
What are PM 10 particles?
PM10 (particles with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less): these particles are small enough to pass through the throat and nose and enter the lungs. Once inhaled, these particles can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health effects.
What is the standard for indoor air quality?
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has given a threshold limit value of 25 ppm for an 8-hour workday, while the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has estimated a recommended exposure limit of 35 ppm.
What causes PM 2.5 indoors?
PM2.5 is also produced by common indoor activities. Some indoor sources of fine particles are tobacco smoke, cooking (e.g., frying, sautéing, and broiling), burning candles or oil lamps, and operating fireplaces and fuel-burning space heaters (e.g., kerosene heaters).
What is a good indoor PM2 5?
Acceptable/Good: 12 ug/m3. Be extra cautious if you have asthma or other respiratory problems or cardiovascular disease. You can also check to see if pollution levels are lower during certain times of the day, and plan your activity for those times.
Why is PM 2.5 harmful?
The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems. Fine particles (PM2.5) pose the greatest health risk. These fine particles can get deep into lungs and some may even get into the bloodstream. Exposure to these particles can affect a person’s lungs and heart.
Is PM10 a dust?
PM10 also includes dust from construction sites, landfills and agriculture, wildfires and brush/waste burning, industrial sources, wind-blown dust from open lands, pollen and fragments of bacteria.
What are two substances molds need in order to grow?
What are two substances molds need in order to grow? Moisture and food material.
How can I test the air quality in my home?
How to Test Air Quality in the Home
- Purchase an indoor air quality monitor.
- Evaluate health symptoms.
- Monitor carbon monoxide and radon levels.
- Get an air purifier.
- Call an air quality professional.
How can I reduce indoor PM?
Steps to Reduce Exposure to Indoor PM
- Vent all fuel-fired combustion appliances to the outdoors (including stoves, heaters and furnaces)
- Install and use exhaust fans vented to the outside when cooking.
- Avoid the use of unvented stoves, fireplaces or space heaters indoors.
What is a safe PM 2.5 level?
In the US, exposure to very fine particulate matter known as PM2. 5 is considered safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency’s national ambient air quality standards so long as a person breathes in an average of 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air (μg/m3) or less per day over the duration of a year.
How can I reduce the PM 2.5 in my house?
What can I do to reduce my exposure to fine particle pollution when levels are extremely high?
- Stay indoors in an area with filtered air.
- Keep your activity levels low.
- If you cannot buy filters for your entire home, create a clean room for sleeping.
- Take additional steps to keep pollution in your home low.
How can I reduce PM 2.5 at home?
How big is particulate matter in the air?
Particulate Matter (PM): There are two categories of PM – coarse dust particles (PM10) between 2.5 to 10 micrometers in diameter. Sources include dust, pollen, and mold. Fine particles (PM2.5) are 2.5 microns (µ) in diameter or smaller.
Which is the most dangerous particle in the air?
Dust from roads, farms, dry riverbeds, construction sites, and mines are types of PM 10. Fine (smaller) particles, called PM 2.5, are more dangerous because they can get into the deep parts of your lungs — or even into your blood. How can particle pollution affect my health?
What are the effects of indoor particulate matter?
Once inhaled, particles can affect the heart and lungs and in some cases cause serious health effects. The human health effects of outdoor PM are well-established and are used to set health-based standards for outdoor air (National Ambient Air Quality Standards, NAAQS). PM is also found in all indoor environments.
For PM2.5, the short-term standard (24-hour or daily average maximum level) is 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) and the long-term standard (annual average) is 15 µg/m3. For PM10, the short-term standard is 150 µg/m3 (there is currently no long-term standard).