The American Lung Association® has prepared a fact sheet on the health effects of fine particle air pollution — also known as PM2.5
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In the last year, hundreds of scientific papers on the health effects of air pollution have been published reporting on effects ranging from respiratory symptoms to premature mortality.
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Refined analysis of the National Morbidity, Mortality and Air Pollution Study (NMMAPS) changes the quantitative estimates of the study, but the major conclusions remain the same.
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In 1997, the U.S. EPA established the first air quality standards for PM2.5, particulate matter so fine that it can be inhaled and lodge deep in the lungs. Community heath studies demonstrated that fine particle air pollution was associated with increased use of asthma medication in children, decline in respiratory function, increased emergency room visits and hospitalization for respiratory and cardiac problems, and premature death.

The combustion of fossil fuels is the major source of fine particulate air pollution, hence industries such as the trucking, auto, petroleum, steel, and electric utilities led the opposition to the new standards. Industry groups cited cost, scientific, and legal arguments in opposition to the new standards. Industry groups continue to challenge the standards in federal court, despite a Supreme Court decision rejecting many of their claims.
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Increasingly, particulate air pollution is being associated with effects on the cardiovascular system, and heart patients are being identified as susceptible subpopulations.
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More than 800 new scientific studies related to the effect of airborne particulates on human health have been published since 1996, when EPA last reviewed the standards for particulate matter.

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Recent research with laboratory animals, clinical subjects, and human populations has identified a cascade of adverse health effects from ozone at levels common in the United States. Effects include increased respiratory symptoms, damage to cells of the respiratory tract, pulmonary inflammation, declines in lung function, increased susceptibility to respiratory infections, and increased risk of hospitalization and early death.
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Physician’s for Social Responsibility has published a guide to the health effects of air pollution for primary care doctors.
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