ICIMOD hands over Environmental Dust Monitor to EPA.

ISLAMABAD -- The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on Wednesday handed over specialised equipment known as Environmental Dust Monitor to Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) that can monitor very fine particles suspended in the air injurious to human health.

A team of air quality experts from ICIMOD visited Pak-EPA office to handover and install the Environmental Dust Monitor manufactured by GRIMM, said a news release.

These fine particles, known as Particulate Matter (PM), can be of size 10micrometers (PM10), 2.5micrometres (PM2.5) and 1micrometer (PM1).

When compared to a human hair, PM10 is 1/7th the width of human hair, while PM2.5 is 1/30th of it. Such fine particles suspended in the air can originate from multiple sources, including dust; fire smoke; chemicals and pollutants from cars, trucks, buses, industries and brick kilns; construction sites, etc., it said.

More importantly, particles this fine in size can be dangerous...