Particulate matter
microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in the Earth's atmosphere
Particulate matter (PM) or particulates are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The combination of particulates and air is called an aerosol. Sources of particulate matter can be either natural or occur as a result of human activities. Particulates may adversely affect human health and impact climate and precipitation.
Categories of atmospheric particles include inhalable coarse particles, designated PM10, which are particles of coarse granularity, with a particle diameter of 10 micrometers (μm) or less; fine particles, designated PM2.5, with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less; ultrafine particles, PM.10 with a diameter of 100 nanometers (nm) or less; and soot (fine or ultrafine particles primarily made up of carbon).
Airborne particulate matter is a IARC Group 1 carcinogen. Particulate matter is considered the most dangerous type of air pollution because particulates can penetrate deep into the lungs and travel through the blood stream to multiple organs, such as the brain. Particulate matter contributes to health problems such as stroke, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, many types of cancer, and preterm birth. It is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment. There is no safe level for exposure to particulates.
“Particulate matter” enters the record as microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in the Earth's atmosphere. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Particulate, matter and microscopic can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q498957. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Particulate matter” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.