There are three units in the overall Analytical Facility Core. They are the Analytical Chemistry Unit, the Exposure Assessment Facility Unit, and the Aerosol Science Unit. Dr. Antonio Miguel directs the Analytical Chemistry Unit, and Dr. William Hinds directs the other two units. The Analytical Chemistry Unit consists of a primary laboratory and three specialized supporting laboratories. Together, they provide comprehensive chemical analysis of environmental and tissue samples. The primary analytical service laboratory is now the Particulate Matter Center Analytical Laboratory (PMCAL). The PMCAL has capabilities to provide analytical services for air pollution and environmental studies, including toxicology, epidemiology, exposure assessment, and aerosol analysis. The PMCAL serves as the primary source of analytical services, but calls upon other analytical laboratories as needed for specialized analysis. This arrangement provides a service facility that can respond directly to requests and provide the analytical services needed by Center investigators.

The Exposure Assessment Unit provides assistance for exposure assessment, sampling, and field studies. This includes the loan of field equipment and locating personnel to participate in research projects, especially field sampling. The unit has an extensive inventory of sampling pumps, field sampling instruments, and equipment. It has laboratory facilities for calibration, validation, and filter weighing.

The Aerosol Science Unit provides expertise in the area of aerosol properties and measurement. It includes two aerosol measurement laboratories, the Particle Instrumentation Unit (PIU) and the aerosol research laboratory. Together, they provide excellent instrumentation for sampling and measurement of airborne particles and particle size distributions, including ultrafine particles. This unit has been enhanced by the development of the Particle Instrumentation Unit (PIU) of the Particle Center, which provides access to sophisticated ambient air pollution instruments including real-time aerosol size distribution measurement instruments.