Particulate matter is a component of ambient air pollution that has been linked to millions of annual premature deaths globally1-3. Assessments of the chronic and acute effects of particulate matter on human health tend to be based on mass concentration, with particle size and composition also thought to play a part4. Oxidative potential has been suggested to be one of the many possible drivers of the acute health effects of particulate matter, but the link remains uncertain5-8. Studies investigating the particulate-matter components that manifest an oxidative activity have yielded conflicting results7. In consequence, there is still much to be learned about the sources of particulate matter that may control the oxidative potential concentration7. Here we use field observations and air-quality modelling to quantify the major primary and secondary sources of particulate matter and of oxidative potential in Europe. We find that secondary inorganic components, crustal material and secondary biogenic organic aerosols control the mass concentration of particulate matter. By contrast, oxidative potential concentration is associated mostly with anthropogenic sources, in particular with fine-mode secondary organic aerosols largely from residential biomass burning and coarse-mode metals from vehicular non-exhaust emissions. Our results suggest that mitigation strategies aimed at reducing the mass concentrations of particulate matter alone may not reduce the oxidative potential concentration. If the oxidative potential can be linked to major health impacts, it may be more effective to control specific sources of particulate matter rather than overall particulate mass.

中文翻译：

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欧洲颗粒物空气污染的来源及其氧化潜力

颗粒物是环境空气污染的一个组成部分，与全球每年数百万过早死亡有关 1-3。对颗粒物对人类健康的慢性和急性影响的评估往往基于质量浓度，颗粒大小和成分也被认为是其中的一部分4。氧化潜力被认为是颗粒物急性健康影响的众多可能驱动因素之一，但这种联系仍然不确定5-8。对表现出氧化活性的颗粒物质成分进行调查的研究得出了相互矛盾的结果 7。因此，关于可能控制氧化电位浓度的颗粒物的来源，仍有很多需要了解的地方7。在这里，我们使用实地观察和空气质量模型来量化欧洲颗粒物和氧化潜力的主要和次要来源。我们发现次生无机成分、地壳物质和次生生物有机气溶胶控制着颗粒物的质量浓度。相比之下，氧化电位浓度主要与人为来源有关，特别是与主要来自住宅生物质燃烧的细模式二次有机气溶胶和来自车辆非尾气排放的粗模式金属有关。我们的结果表明，旨在单独降低颗粒物质量浓度的缓解策略可能不会降低氧化电位浓度。如果氧化电位与主要的健康影响有关，