BACKGROUND AND AIMS Epidemiology studies have shown that cardiovascular (CV) disease is primarily responsible for the mortality associated with increased pulmonary environmental particle (PM10) exposure. The mechanisms involved in PM10 mediated CV effects are unknown although changes in plasma viscosity and in the homoeostasis of blood coagulation have been implicated. It was hypothesised that ...

PM10 (the mass of particles present in the air having a 50% cutoff for particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 microm) is the standard measure of particulate air pollution used worldwide. Epidemiological studies suggest that asthma symptoms can be worsened by increases in the levels of PM10. Epidemiological evidence at present indicates that PM10 increases do not raise the chances of initi...

The measurements of PM10 at two sites in Poland – a typical village and a big city considered urban background – indicated only a small difference in PM10 concentrations. In summer time, the concentrations of PM10 did not exceed the daily limit value of 50 μg/m while in wintertime, the daily limit value was exceeded for almost all sampling days for both sites. Source contributions to ambient PM...

BACKGROUND Epidemiological evidence has implicated fine particulate air pollution, particularly particles less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10), in the development of exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) although the mechanism is unknown. The hypothesis that PM10 particles induce oxidant stress, causing inflammation and injury to airway epithelium, was test...

BACKGROUND In the year 2000 Corus closed its steel plant operations in Redcar, NE of England temporarily for refurbishment of its blast furnace. This study investigates the impact of the closure on the chemical composition and biological activity of PM10 collected in the vicinity of the steel plant. METHODS The metal content of PM10 samples collected before during and after the closure was me...