The project “FUMe” shall fill significant knowledge-gaps about the release of particulate from the process zone during material processing with ultrashort-pulse lasers (USPL). Particle propagation in the working area and particle deposition on component and system surfaces will be examined for open and closed systems. To determine the emission rates and the space- and time-resolved inhalable exposure to total dust experimental measurements will be used. First results of the investigations in the exhaust-gas of USP laser processes on steel and ceramics are available. Particle-size-distributions have been determined and differences in the origin of the particles have been analysed. Toxicological analyses will be performed on nanoparticle-containing fumes by in-vitro exposure to human alveolar epithelial cells and subsequent determination of the cell viability. The measurement results can be used to develop laser process-specific measures for optimised health protection as well as to reduce component rework and system cleaning from dust deposits.