Vol. 41 (2013): Bulletin of the Chemists and Technologists of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Air pollution has increased in recent decades in the industrialized world, resulting in a raise of allergic and other diseases that are becoming growing public health problem. Air pollution is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air. Particle pollution, called particulate matter or PM, is a combination of fine solids and aerosols that are suspended in the air we breathe. Particles can come in almost any shape or size, and can be solid particles or liquid droplets. The particles are divided into two major groups. These groups differ in many ways. One of the differences is size, the bigger particles are called PM10 and the smaller particles PM2.5. The big particles are between 2.5 and 10 micrometers (from about 25 to 100 times thinner than a human hair). The small particles are smaller than 2.5 micrometers (100 times thinner than a human hair). Inhaling them can increase the chance to have health problems. People with heart or lung disease, older adults and children are at greater risk from air pollution. Particle size is an important determinant of the fraction of inhaled particles deposited in the various regions of the respiratory tract. Most aerosols present in natural and work environments are polydisperse. This means that the constituent particles within an aerosol have a range of sizes and are more appropriately described in terms of size distribution parameters. Size is not the only difference. Each type of particle is made of different material and comes from different places.
Atmospheric particles are emitted from a wide variety of anthropogenic and natural sources, and consequently their physical and chemical properties may vary widely. Car emissions, chemicals from factories, dust, pollen and mold spores may be suspended as particles. Susceptibility of an individual to adverse health effects of PM can vary depending on a variety of host factors such as age, physiological activity profile, genetic predisposition, or preexistent disease.
Recent epidemiological studies have provided solid evidence for the association of airborne particulate matter (PM) concentrations with adverse respiratory health effects. Acute and chronic inhalation can result in damage to the lung including cancer, and chronic inhalation affects other organ systems. However, the mechanism is unknown. Thus, determining, identifying and tracking air pollution and its adverse effect on health, requries continuous focus in attempt to address and stop this serious problem of modern world.
