PM Research Topics 
National Research Council | NARSTO | EPA Research
EPA's Particulate Matter Research Program is designed to address the most important scientific questions that need to be answered to fully understand the links between emissions of particles and particle precursors and adverse health and environmental impacts. EPA's research priorities are guided by input from external experts, including the National Research Council, the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, and NARSTO.
National Research Council
The National Research Council's three reports (Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter; 1998, 1999, and 2001) identify ten priority research areas. These are:
- Outdoor Measures Versus Actual Human Exposures
- Exposures of Susceptible Subpopulations to Toxic Particulate-Matter Components
- Characterization of Emission Sources
- Air-Quality Model Development and Testing
- Assessment of Hazardous Particulate-Matter Components
- Dosimetry: Deposition and Fate of Particles in the Respiratory Tract
- Combined Effects of Particulate Matter and Gaseous Pollutants
- Susceptible Subpopulations
- Mechanisms of Injury
- Analysis and Measurement
Reports by the National Research Council 
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In addition to these ten topics, the NRC also identified the need to maintain "Technical Support" for atmospheric chemistry and modeling, source apportionment, emissions characterization and development of emission factors, emission control technologies, and development of the air quality criteria document.
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NARSTO **
NARSTO's Particulate Matter Assessment highlighted six areas of science needed to provide the questions faced by air quality policy makers implementing today’s NAAQS:
- Improved understanding of carbonaceous aerosols
- Long term (multi-decade) monitoring of PM mass, composition, and gas/particle distributions, and gas phase precursors and copollutants in parallel with health impacts studies
- Evaluating and further developing the performance of chemical transport models
- Improved emission inventories and emission models
- Analysis, synthesis and archiving of ambient data
- Systematic approaches for integrating diverse types of knowledge on sources, properties and effects of PM to assist in developing management practices and tracking their progress toward protecting health
NARSTO PM Science and Assessment
** Formerly an acronym for "North American Research Strategy for Tropospheric Ozone," the term NARSTO is now simply a wordmark signifying a public-private partnership across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico for dealing with multiple features of tropospheric pollution, including ozone and suspended particulate matter.
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EPA Research
These topics are being addressed by EPA's efforts described briefly below. More details on each of these broad topic areas can be found by using the links to the appropriate EPA Laboratory or Center located at the end of each section.
Health Effects of PM
EPA's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory is conducting studies to answer the priority research areas related to health effects identified in the NRC reports, such as mechanisms of injury, susceptible subpopulations, and assessment of hazardous PM components. Additional work in these areas is supported by EPA's National Center for Environmental Research, through grants to individual researchers and to PM Research Centers.
EPA's research is examining adults and children to characterize relationships between PM and co-pollutant exposure and health indices. We are also linking epidemiological studies of PM's effects with results from clinical human studies and toxicology studies in laboratory animals. We are performing in vivo and in vitro studies in animals and humans to examine dose-response relationships, identify the characteristics of PM that produce effects, and elucidate mechanisms of action. In order to study factors affecting susceptibility, we are developing animal models that can mimic human diseases, such as asthma. A better understanding of how healthy and susceptible people are affected by breathing PM will provide EPA with the ability to develop air quality standards that protect human health as efficiently as possible.
NHEERL Contact Bill Russo (russo.bill@epa.gov, 919-541-7869)
NCER contact: Stacey Katz (katz.stacey@epa.gov, 202-564-8201)
Exposure to Ambient PM
The mere presence of particles in the atmosphere does not necessarily mean that they pose risks to people. For ambient PM to represent a health risk, people must be exposed to particles that are in the ambient air. EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory and the National Center for Environmental Research are studying how people are exposed to PM and how those exposures are related to levels of PM measured at central monitoring locations. EPA researchers are examining exposures of people to PM components and to PM from different source types. In addition, we are measuring variations in exposure to different components of PM. Research is also being conducted to develop human exposure modeling tools that will enable the results of specific studies to be extended to other scenarios. By understanding how people are exposed to the particles in the ambient air, EPA can more accurately determine what levels of ambient PM are safe, leading to better and more effective air quality standards.
NERL contact Tim Watkins (watkins.tim@epa.gov, 919-541-5114)
NCER contact: Gail Robarge (robarge.gail@epa.gov, 202-564-8301)
Atmospheric PM Formation, Transport, and Measurement
A significant portion of ambient PM is formed in the atmosphere from gaseous precursors such as sulfur dioxide (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds. EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory and National Center for Environmental Research are conducting research to better understand how these precursors react in the atmosphere to form particles, to more accurately identify the contributions of particles and particle precursors from different source types, and to develop computational models that can predict PM levels based on our understanding of emission sources. EPA is also conducting research to develop improved methods for measuring ambient PM concentrations. Application of these methods will improve our understanding of the link between sources and ambient PM levels, and between ambient PM concentrations and adverse health effects. EPA's Community MultiScale Air Quality (CMAQ) model provides EPA, states, and other users with the ability to evaluate how well potential emissions control strategies will reduce the amount of PM in the ambient air.
NERL contact Tim Watkins (watkins.tim@epa.gov, 919-541-5114)
NCER contact: Darrell Winner (winner.darrell@epa.gov, 202-564-6929)
Composition and Size of PM Emitted from Sources
Particles in the atmosphere come from many different types of sources, ranging from fugitive dust from forest fires and unpaved roads to exhaust from gasoline and diesel engines and industrial boilers. Each of these source types generates particles and particle precursors of different sizes and composition. EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory and the National Center for Environmental Research are measuring emissions from many of these source types to better understand the rates of emissions and the attributes of the emitted particles. Improved methods to measure ammonia (a key PM precursor gas) and emissions from industrial sources will provide EPA, states, and industries with the capabilities to more accurately measure the amounts of particles and their composition, providing better information for air quality planners to identify effective approaches to reducing ambient PM levels.
NRMRL contact: Doug McKinney (mckinney.douglas@epa.gov, 919-541-3006)
NCER contact: Darrell Winner (winner.darrell@epa.gov, 202-564-6929)
Technologies to Control PM Emissions
Over the next decade, EPA will require many sources to take action to control emissions of PM and PM precursors. In many cases, these actions will include the installation and operation of air pollution control technologies. In some cases, the most effective approach will be to control several pollutants with a single air pollution control system. EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory is evaluating the costs and performance of some of the most promising control technologies to provide industries, EPA, and state regulators with the best possible information on what to expect from these technologies. Up-to-date information on installation and operating costs, levels of pollutant reduction, and potential adverse side effects (such as residue disposal) will allow both regulators and users to make informed decisions on how to most efficiently achieve EPA's air quality standards.
NRMRL contact: Doug McKinney (mckinney.douglas@epa.gov, 919-541-3006)
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