Factsheet containing information on PM10. Including information on why the substance is included in the Pollution Inventory and it's effects on the environment and human health.
What type of substance is it?
PM10 is the term used to describe tiny particles in the air, made up of a complex mixture of soot, organic and inorganic materials having a particle size less than or equal to 10 microns diameter (10 microns is equal to one hundredth part of a millimetre). PM10 is one of the eight substances for which the government has established an air quality standard as part of its national Air Quality Strategy.
How is it released?
There are many man-made sources of PM10, including road transport and industry. There are also natural sources, for example, volcanoes and dust storms.
Detailed information
Scientific name:
PM10, Particles with diameter less than or equal to 10 micron.
Other names:
Particulate matter, fine particles (although this term should be used to mean PM2.5), particulates
CAS Number:
(not available)
PM10 particles can travel long distances in the air. Occasionally, PM10 in the UK has been found to contain dust from the Sahara desert or from a volcanic eruption. Some particles are formed by chemical reactions in the air to form substances such as ammonium sulphate. High concentrations of PM10 in the UK can sometimes be found to be caused in part by industrial releases from Eastern Europe. However, in general most of the PM10 measured is released from industrial plants and motor vehicles.
PM10 are generally produced as an accidental by-product of various chemical or physical processes. PM10s as such are not deliberately manufactured, although many industrial processes do use finely-divided powders and dusts as a normal input into manufacturing and processing. Examples include the Cement & Lime and Iron and Steel sectors.
PM10 particles are made up of a complex mixture of many different species including soot (carbon), sulphate particles, metals and inorganic salts such as sea salt. The particles vary in size and shape, up to 10 microns diameter.
Where is it released?
Soot particles are released into the air from combustion processes like coal burning, road transport, waste incineration and other industrial processes. Sulphate particles can arise from combustion of fuel containing sulphur, either directly or by subsequent chemical reactions of sulphur dioxide with other air-borne species. Other types of particulates are created by construction and quarrying and by natural phenomena such as forest fires, volcanoes and dust storms.
Local environmental effects
Particles can stick to the surfaces of buildings resulting in blackening of the facades.
Global environmental effects
Recent research suggests that particles might contribute to global warming. It is thought that sulphate particles in the atmosphere that are thought to reflect the sun's radiation, lessening global warming, may be darkened by contamination with darker particulate material resulting in them absorbing instead of reflecting the suns radiation and thereby increasing global warming.
Possible health concerns
Particulates may affect the heart and lung. The Environment Agency aims to ensure that environmental exposures pose no appreciable risk to human health.
Legislation
Why was this substance selected for the Pollution Inventory?
Included in : European Pollutant Emission Register (EPER) reporting requirements; UK National Air Quality Strategy (NAQS) substances.
Standard risk phrases for the pure substance
The standard risk phrases provided here are generally those used by suppliers of chemicals to describe substances - for example on packaging materials. The most important source of these phrases are the CHIP Regulations - Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) - provided by the Health and Safety Executive. Some substances do not have CHIP risk phrases and in these circumstances we have used other risk phrases, the sources of which are indicated.
Because this is a large family of chemicals rather than a single substance, it is not possible to provide risk phrases, which are generally provided for a single substance whose properties can be precisely determined.
Controlling legislation and international agreements
PM10 is one of the eight main air pollutants in the UK's Air Quality Strategy. The air quality standard - which should not be exceeded as a running 24 hour mean - has been set at 50 microgrammes per cubic metre (ug / m3). The Air Quality Regulations 1997 define a staged process of review and assessment on the basis of guidance provided by DETR (now DEFRA). Releases of PM10 would also be controlled under the UK Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations. The European Commission Directive 96/62/EC 'Ambient Air Quality Assessment and Management - Daughter Directive' also sets limit values for concentrations of PM10 in the air. Releases are also controlled under Directive 84/360/EEC Combating of air pollution from industrial plants.
These factsheets have been compiled to provide users with information on the Pollution Inventory substances and represent our best efforts to summarise a large number of disparate and sometimes conflicting data sources. We emphasise that this information describes potential hazards rather than actual effects and that the Environment Agency seeks to regulate releases to minimise emissions and hence any risk of detrimental effects occurring.
