Tiny airborne particles too small to see are more plentiful and may pose a greater health hazard than previously thought, says an Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher studying airborne particles in the Great Smoky Mountains and beyond.
Recent evidence in scientific literature suggests that a relatively small increase in the concentration of particulate matter of 10 micrometers or less -- a tenth the diameter of a human hair -- results in a small but consistent increase in death rates and illnesses caused by impacts on the cardiopulmonary system.