Scientists: trees also produce dangerous to the health of particulate matter – Market Zrdowia

In the light of the latest research a major producer of suspended particulate matter – next to car engines and furnaces – turned out to be ubiquitous tree.

The current development of analytical methods finally opened the way to get to know the chemistry of organic compounds forming dust particles floating in the air, say the authors of a report published in the journal “Chemical Reviews” – stated in a press release prepared by the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

All around us is in the air particulate matter. The current gaps in knowledge in this field require more urgent restoration. Only then it will be possible to understand the complex effects of particulate matter on human health, quality of life and climate change the planet. These conclusions come from a comprehensive report published by an international team of researchers in the journal “Chemical Reviews”, the second in terms of the impact of a journal in the world.

– Rich in organic particulate matter is literally omnipresent. With each breath of the chemical components of the cocktail get into our lungs and thence penetrate cell membranes directly into the bloodstream. Information about what really breathe, is therefore absolutely essential to our lives – said Dr. Eng. Rafal Szmigielski from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC PAS) in Warsaw, a co-author of the report.

Particulate matter is an aerosol, which is dispersed in the air system of many particles of solid or liquid particles with diameters no larger than a few micrometres (and however over ten times smaller than the diameter of a human hair).

The fines are composites of hundreds to thousands of chemical compounds: a very simple, with a particle just kilkuatomowych, the several dozen or more thousand atoms polymer chains, and even DNA fragments . According to the latest estimates, easy minerals (inorganic) are less than half of the components of the aerosol particles.

– Today, we know that in particulate matter are mainly nitrates and sulfates. I also understand where they come from – usually come from all over, very complicated reaction sequence, which resulted in the atmosphere of nitrogen or sulfur oxides are converted into acids or are the result of natural processes of erosion of rocks. However, the composition and origin of the main fraction of the aerosol, dominated by organic compounds, until last year was virtually unknown – says Dr. Szmigielski.