Particulate matter: two air-hygienic approaches compared

The air contains particulate matter from traffic, industry, commercial enterprises, households, furnaces, etc. Fine dust can cause asthma, chronic cough, bronchitis or other respiratory diseases as well as lung diseases including lung cancer. Therefore, particulate matter has been classified as carcinogenic by the WHO Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) since 2013.

Two air hygiene approaches compared

Fine particulate matter is regulated in Switzerland with scientifically based immission limits, whereas for other carcinogenic substances the minimization principle is applied, assuming an "accepted risk" of one death per 1 million inhabitants.

The Federal Commission for Air Hygiene (EKL) has in its just published report "Ambient Air Quality Limits and Accepted Risks: A comparison of two air hygiene approaches to particulate matter and lung cancer." compared and evaluated the two approaches using lung cancer as an example.

The FCAH concludes that the immission limit values for particulate matter are superior to the concept of "accepted risk" for air pollution control policy. According to the FCAH, the immission limit values represent a pragmatic, transparent and efficient instrument for impact-oriented, successful air pollution control. The FCAH recommends that particulate matter continue to be assessed by immission limit values and that these be adjusted as necessary. The state of knowledge about the effects is being closely monitored and, if necessary, adjustments to the immission limit values will be proposed in due course, the press release concludes.

Source: Federal Commission for Air Hygiene