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Diesel Particulate Matter
 
 
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Diesel particulate matter (DPM), sometimes also called diesel exhaust particles (DEP), is the particulate
Particulate

Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas or liquid....
 component of diesel exhaust from older diesel cars, which includes diesel soot
Soot

Soot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolyzed fuel particles such as cenospheres, charred wood, petroleum coke, etc....
 and aerosols such as ash particulates, metallic abrasion particles, sulfates, and silicates. When released into the atmosphere
Atmosphere

An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, by the gravity of the body, and are retained for a longer duration if gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low....
, DPM can take the form of individual particles or chain aggregates, with most in the invisible sub-micrometre range of 100 nanometers, also known as ultrafine particles
Ultrafine particles

Ultrafine particles are nanoscale, less than 100 nanometres. Clusters of UFPs can be seen with the naked eye. But, electron microscopy and special physical lab conditions allow scientists to observe UFP morphology ....
 (UFP) or PM0.1.

main particulate
Particulate

Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas or liquid....
 fraction of diesel
Diesel

Diesel or diesel fuel in general is any fuel used in diesel engines. The most common is a specific fractional distillation of petroleum fuel oil, but alternatives that are not derived from petroleum, such as biodiesel, biomass to liquid or gas to liquid diesel, are increasingly being developed and adopted....
 exhaust consists of small particles.






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Diesel particulate matter (DPM), sometimes also called diesel exhaust particles (DEP), is the particulate
Particulate

Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas or liquid....
 component of diesel exhaust from older diesel cars, which includes diesel soot
Soot

Soot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolyzed fuel particles such as cenospheres, charred wood, petroleum coke, etc....
 and aerosols such as ash particulates, metallic abrasion particles, sulfates, and silicates. When released into the atmosphere
Atmosphere

An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, by the gravity of the body, and are retained for a longer duration if gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low....
, DPM can take the form of individual particles or chain aggregates, with most in the invisible sub-micrometre range of 100 nanometers, also known as ultrafine particles
Ultrafine particles

Ultrafine particles are nanoscale, less than 100 nanometres. Clusters of UFPs can be seen with the naked eye. But, electron microscopy and special physical lab conditions allow scientists to observe UFP morphology ....
 (UFP) or PM0.1.

Health risks

The main particulate
Particulate

Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas or liquid....
 fraction of diesel
Diesel

Diesel or diesel fuel in general is any fuel used in diesel engines. The most common is a specific fractional distillation of petroleum fuel oil, but alternatives that are not derived from petroleum, such as biodiesel, biomass to liquid or gas to liquid diesel, are increasingly being developed and adopted....
 exhaust consists of small particles. Because of their small size, inhaled particles may easily penetrate deep into the lungs. The rough surfaces of these particles makes it easy for them to bind with other toxin
Toxin

A toxin is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms. For a toxic substance not produced by living organisms, "toxicant" is the more appropriate term, and "toxics" is an acceptable plural....
s in the environment
Natural environment

The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that encompasses all life and non-living things occurring nature on Earth or some region thereof....
, thus increasing the hazards of particle inhalation. Exposures have been linked with acute short-term symptoms such as headache
Headache

In medicine a headache or wiktionary:cephalalgia is a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and sometimes neck. Some of the causes are benign while others are medical emergencies....
, dizziness
Dizziness

Dizziness describes a number of subjective symptoms, which the patient may describe as feelings of lightheadedness, floating, wooziness, giddiness, confusion, disorientation or loss of balance....
, light-headedness, nausea
Nausea

Nausea is the sensation of unease and discomfort in the stomach with an urge to vomit....
, coughing, difficult or labored breathing, tightness of chest, and irritation of the eyes and nose and throat. Long-term exposures can lead to chronic, more serious health problems such as cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular diseases refers to the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels . While the term technically refers to any disease that affects the Circulatory system , it is usually used to refer to those related to atherosclerosis ....
, cardiopulmonary disease, and lung cancer
Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissue of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, which is the invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs....
.

Exposure to diesel exhaust and DPM is a known occupational hazard to truckers, railroad workers, and miners using diesel-powered equipment in underground mines. Adverse health effects have also been observed in the general population at ambient atmospheric particle concentrations well below the concentrations in occupational settings.

Recently, concerns have been raised in the U.S. regarding children's exposure to DPM as they ride diesel-powered schoolbuses to and from school. The Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an List of United States federal agencies of the federal government of the United States charged to Regulation of chemicals and protect human health by safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land....
 (EPA) has established the Clean School Bus USA initiative in an effort to unite private and public organizations in curbing student exposures.

Regulation

Although the American Mine Safety and Health Administration
Mine Safety and Health Administration

The Mine Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce the frequency and severity of nonfatal accide...
 issued a health standard in January 2001 designed to reduce exposure in underground metal and nonmetal mines, on September 7, 2005, MSHA
MSHA

The acronym and initialism MSHA can refer to:* Maryland State Highway Administration, an agency of the Maryland Department of Transportation.* Master of Science in Health Administration, or Master of Health Administration, a graduate degree...
 published a notice in the Federal Register
Federal Register

The Federal Register , abbreviated FR, or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the United States Government that contains most routine publications and public notices of government agencies....
 proposing to postpone the effective date from January 2006 until January 2011.

See also

  • Diesel particulate filter
    Diesel Particulate Filter

    A diesel particulate filter, sometimes called a DPF, is a device designed to remove diesel particulate matter or soot from the exhaust gas of a diesel engine....


External links

. , a case study at www.defendingscience.org , EPA Initiative Article by Celeste Monforton. American Journal of Public Health, February 2006.