Provision of an Oxidation Flow Reactor

One of the main responsibilities of UKHSA is to protect the population from environmental exposures such as air pollution. To offer the best protection, it is essential to recognise the diverse and varying challenges to health over the course of a lifetime and to identify how different components of air pollution may threaten health and well-being more than others. Air particulate PM2.5 is typically considered the most detrimental component of air pollution. It is however not a homogenous particle type but rather contains a mixture of different chemical and physical components, that can differ across geographical location and throughout the year. It has recently been recognised that a large proportion of PM2.5 contains secondary aerosols formed in the atmosphere and contains many toxic chemicals which have not been characterised for their toxicity in humans. The proposed equipment will generate these secondary aerosols (SOAs) such that chemical composition may be characterised, and toxicity assessed. Comparison to other particle types including combustion derived primary particles and samples collected from polluted environments will allow assessments to be made as to how one should consider the toxicity of SAs.