Impact of Particulate Matter on the Environment and Health

Dear Colleagues,

Airborne particulate matter (PM) is a heterogeneous mixture of particles with different shapes and sizes, including a variety of components of natural and anthropogenic origins. Despite European policies aimed at the reduction of annual mean concentrations, they still exceed EU limit values and WHO air quality guidelines. Fine and ultrafine particles enter the human respiratory system and cause adverse health problems, depending on the size. Therefore, the deposition pattern in the respiratory tract and the possible toxic effects according to shape and size deserve further investigation. Both short- and long-term exposure to PM can lead to a wide range of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Moreover, the IARC has classified fine and ultrafine particles as causes of cancer. Epidemiological studies of the longer-term effects of PM exposure include cohort studies for estimating the chronic effects; however, in this area there is a lack of data on ultrafine particles.Toxicity studies must include both acellular/cellular oxidative stress tests and the study of of exposure indices to assess carcinogenic risks in outdoor and indoor environments。

Papers addressing these topics are invited for this Special Issue, focused on chemical analysis with the identification of inorganic and organic tracers and on epidemiology and risk assessment studies to human health related to PM exposure.

Dr. Giulia Simonetti
Dr. Francesca Buiarelli
Guest Editors

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