Recent studies have presented well-founded assumptions concerning the biological mechanisms involved and the groups of people that are probably more susceptible to PM. Particulate Matter is a generic term for a complex mixture of large and small airborne particles. However, the causal factors within this complex mixture are difficult to disentangle and have not yet been identified. The second Section of this report looks at the different types of PM, their atmospheric behaviour and the methods of measuring them. The health effects associated with PM are also presented. Section 3 discusses the most recent epidemiological, toxicological and human clinical findings and their mutual relationships.

On the basis of epidemiological studies it has been estimated that in the Netherlands some 1,700 to 3,000 people per year die prematurely as a result of inhaling ambient PM. These figures reflect only the effects of acute exposure to air pollution. If the long-term effects of chronic exposure are taken into account, premature mortality could affect 10,000–15,000 people a year in the Netherlands. These last estimates for chronic exposure are more uncertain, because chronic effect studies are much fewer in number. The estimate of the chronic effects was based on foreign studies, which are not completely comparable with the Dutch situation.

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