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PM2.5 Exposure Calculator

Work out pm2.5 exposure instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About PM2.5 Exposure Calculator

Inhaled dose is concentration times exposure time times breathing rate. Eight hours at 45 ug/m3 with a 0.9 m3/h resting rate inhales 324 ug of fine particulate - about 0.015 of a cigarette's PM2.5 burden. Exercise multiplies the dose, because ventilation can rise five or tenfold above resting.

Formulas

Inhaled dose

dose = concentration x hours x breathing rate

Cigarette comparison

roughly 22 mg of PM2.5 per cigarette

Worked example

With the default values below, PM2.5 Exposure Calculator returns PM2.5 Inhaled of 324.0. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

PM2.5 concentrationminimum 0 ug/m3
45 ug/m3
Hours exposedminimum 0 h
8 h
Breathing rateminimum 0 m3/h
0.9 m3/h

Results

PM2.5 Inhaled
324.0 ug
Same Mass In Milligrams
0.3240
Rough Cigarette Equivalent
0.0147
Times The WHO 24-Hour Guideline
3.00

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Inhaled dose
  3. 3Cigarette comparison
  4. 4PM2.5 Inhaled= 324.0 ug
  5. 5Same Mass In Milligrams= 0.3240
  6. 6Rough Cigarette Equivalent= 0.0147
  7. 7Times The WHO 24-Hour Guideline= 3.00

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does exercise matter so much?

Because minute ventilation can rise from 0.5 to over 5 m3/h, so dose scales with it - which is why exercising near traffic is discouraged.

Is the cigarette comparison reliable?

Only as a rough intuition pump. Cigarette smoke differs chemically and is delivered directly to the lung, so health effects are not proportional.

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PM2.5 Exposure Calculator – Calculate PM2.5 Inhaled