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Atmospheric particulate matter – also known as particulate matter (PM) or particulates –
is microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in the Earth's atmosphere.
Subtypes of atmospheric particle matter include :
suspended particulate matter (SPM),
respirable suspended particle(RSP; particles with diameter of 10 micrometres or less, i.e. PM10),
fine particles (diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less, i.e. PM2.5),
ultrafine particles, and soot.
The IARC and WHO designate airborne particulates a Group 1 carcinogen.
Particulates are the deadliest form of air pollution due to their ability to penetrate deep into the lungs
and blood streams unfiltered, causing permanent DNA mutations, heart attacks, and premature death.[4]
In 2013, a study involving 312,944 people in nine European countries revealed that
there was no safe level of particulates and that for every increase of 10 μg/m3 in PM10,
the lung cancer rate rose 22%.
The smaller PM2.5 were particularly deadly, with a 36% increase in
lung cancer per 10 μg/m3 as it can penetrate deeper into the lungs.[5]
Ambient air pollution is suspected to cause lung cancer. We aimed to assess the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and lung cancer incidence in European populations.
This prospective analysis of data obtained by the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects used data from 17 cohort studies based in nine European countries. Baseline addresses were geocoded and we assessed air pollution by land-use regression models for particulate matter (PM) with diameter of less than 10 μm (PM10), less than 2·5 μm (PM2·5), and between 2·5 and 10 μm (PMcoarse), soot (PM2·5absorbance), nitrogen oxides, and two traffic indicators. We used Cox regression models with adjustment for potential confounders for cohort-specific analyses and random effects models for meta-analyses.
The 312,944 cohort members contributed 4,013,131 person-years at risk. During follow-up (mean 12·8 years), 2095 incident lung cancer cases were diagnosed.
The meta-analyses showed a statistically significant association between risk for lung cancer and PM10 (hazard ratio [HR] 1·22 [95% CI 1·03–1·45] per 10 μg/m3).
For PM2·5 the HR was 1·18 (0·96–1·46) per 5 μg/m3. The same increments of PM10 and PM2·5 were associated with HRs for adenocarcinomas of the lung of 1·51 (1·10–2·08) and 1·55 (1·05–2·29), respectively. An increase in road traffic of 4000 vehicle-km per day within 100 m of the residence was associated with an HR for lung cancer of 1·09 (0·99–1·21).
The results showed no association between lung cancer and nitrogen oxides concentration (HR 1·01 [0·95–1·07] per 20 μg/m3) or traffic intensity on the nearest street (HR 1·00 [0·97–1·04] per 5000 vehicles per day).
Particulate matter air pollution contributes to lung cancer incidence in Europe.