Approaches to Particulate Matter Monitoring, Sampling and Analysis for Personal Exposure Evaluation

Abstract

Aerosol is a suspension of airborne particles in the air or other gas. It is more commonly known as Particulate Matter (PM). Aerosols are ubiquitous throughout our environment in various forms, such as dust, fume, smog, mist, etc. They originate from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Some natural aerosols include pollen, sea salts, smoke from forest fires, and desert dust. Examples of anthropogenic sources include mobile and industrial combustion, construction sites, domestic fuel burning. These aerosols come in a wide range in size from a few nanometers (nm)—less than the width of the smallest viruses—to several tens of micrometers (µm)—about the diameter of human hair. They have significant impacts on climate, human health, and quality of life. This work focuses on developing tools and methods for monitoring, sampling, and analyzing course, fine and ultrafine aerosols (between 10 nm and 10 µm) to study and mitigate their health impact.