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  • Letter to the Editor
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The current inadequacy of exposure assessments and controls for airborne particulate matter (PM) mixtures

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 27, pages 539–541 (2017)Cite this article

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I have recently written critical review papers on inhaled particulate matter (PM) exposures to three PM mixtures that are known to have caused different specific adverse health effects in diverse populations.1, 2, 3 These review papers addressed: (1) ambient air PM; (2) asbestos and other mineral and vitreous fibers; and (3) dust generated by the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers on 11 September 2001. In each case, I concluded that the most notable health effects were owing to specific chemical components of the mixture that were present in quite specific particle size ranges. Furthermore, for each of these three PM mixtures, the air sampling and analytical methods commonly used to define the health risks failed to properly characterize the causal component concentrations. Lacking an understanding of the causal components within each mixture, the underlying exposure–response relationships were poorly defined or undefined, and the measurements made relied on surrogate exposure indices that were, in many cases, not indicative of the risks.

The purpose of this editorial is to encourage more conversation among exposure scientists to enable them to more effectively advocate for and to collaborate with public agencies to better integrate key observations from exposure science (especially re: PM mixtures) into agency monitoring and methods for reducing PM-pollutant exposures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Tuxedo, New York, USA

    Morton Lippmann

  2. Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology,

    Morton Lippmann

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  1. Morton Lippmann
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Correspondence to Morton Lippmann.

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Lippmann, M. The current inadequacy of exposure assessments and controls for airborne particulate matter (PM) mixtures. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 27, 539–541 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2016.56

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