Dickie,

Off topic but thought you might be interested in this piece;

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/120617.php

Thanks for that link Q&A.

I have held an interest in particulate matter (as a pollutant) for sometime and I am delighted that scientists are endeavouring to address the potential ramifications of PM on climate.

And on the domestic front scientists reporting in the Journal of Geophysical Research in 2006 found that "the pattern of increasing rainfall when aerosols are included is strongest over northwestern Australia, in agreement with the observed trends. The strong impact of aerosols is primarily due to the massive Asian aerosol haze, as confirmed by a sensitivity test in which only Asian anthropogenic aerosols are included.

"The Asian haze alters the meridional temperature and pressure gradients over the tropical Indian Ocean, thereby increasing the tendency of monsoonal winds to flow toward Australia. Anthropogenic aerosols also make the simulated pattern of surface-temperature change in the tropical Pacific more like La Nina, since they induce a cooling of the surface waters in the extratropical North Pacific, which are then transported to the tropical eastern Pacific via the deep ocean."

And the following link theorises more on the planet's heating due to aerosols.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6926597.stm

While pollutant industries in Australia monitor for particulate matter, regulators do not enforce any restrictions on emissions, however, I have witnessed reports on PM emissions drastically reduced with pollution prevention control - ie baghouses etc - after the thumbscrews were applied from community outrage!

It appears that monitoring of particulate matter in Australia is only required for PM10 when atmospheric PM2.5 is largely anthropogenic and particularly destructive. It is also particularly dangerous to human health where these tiny particles lodge in healthy lungs unable to expel them.

In the meantime pollutant industries in Australia are pumping it out with relish. Coupled with transboundary emissions such as Asian haze drift, we have quite a toxic soup in our own backyards.

When you hear politicians claiming that measures have been implemented to mitigate industrial pollution - smile quietly Q&A.

The following emissions' report I believe, has been seriously under-estimated:

http://www.npi.gov.au/cgi-bin/npireport.pl?proc=substance;instance=public;year=2007;substance=69;loc_type=national

Cheers for now.

Arjay

You should be interested in this piece;

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2008/09/simple-question-simple-answer-no/langswitch_lang/in

but then again, maybe not.