Exposure to particulate matter to personnel in the Swedish Armed Forces international operations

The objective of this study is to examine whether exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) during deployments pose a potential health hazard to personnel in the Swedish Armed Forces. This report discusses sources and contents of PM in ambient air that may exist in current and future international mission areas of the Swedish Armed Forces. The possible health hazards from exposure to PM are also briefly reviewed and easily implemented suggestions for preventive measures for limiting soldiers' exposure to PM are made. This work is only intended to look at whether concern over particulate exposure during deployments is warranted; it is not meant to determine whether such exposures are actually hazardous. In order to properly address whether exposures are hazardous, an in-depth evaluation of specific mission areas would be required. The intention here is limited to raising the awareness about particulate exposures and the potential consequences from those exposures. This study concludes that there are gaps of knowledge in studies of the short-term effects for personnel on international duty. Furthermore, the lack of systematic air quality surveys in operations areas complicates the risk communication to personnel.