particulate matter

English

Noun

particulate matter (countable and uncountable, plural particulate matters)

  1. Any solid or liquid in a finely subdivided state, especially when considered as an atmospheric pollutant.
    Synonyms: particulates, PM
    Hyponyms: atmospheric particulate matter, suspended particulate matter
    • 2013 July 13, Ole Raaschou-Nielsen; et al., “Air pollution and lung cancer incidence in 17 European cohorts: prospective analyses from the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE)”, in The Lancet Oncology, volume 14, number 9, DOI:10.1016/S1470-2045(13)70279-1:
      Particulate matter air pollution contributes to lung cancer incidence in Europe.
    • 2014, Guofeng Shen, Emission Factors of Carbonaceous Particulate Matter and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Residential Solid Fuel Combustions, Springer (→ISBN), page 60:
      Ambient particulate matter affects local/regional air quality, human health and climate change significantly. The carbonaceous fractions like organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC, sometimes known as black carbon) are of high […]

Usage notes

Sometimes abbreviated as PM with a subscripted number representing the size of the particles in micrometres. Thus, PM2.5 represents particles with a maximum diameter of 2.5µm.

Translations

See also
  • aerosol (“particulate/air mixture”)

Further reading
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