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Procedures and Concepts of EPA's Ongoing Sensor Evaluation Efforts
Citation:
Long, R., M. Beaver, R. Williams, K. Kronmiller, AND S. Garvey. Procedures and Concepts of EPA's Ongoing Sensor Evaluation Efforts. EM: AIR AND WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION'S MAGAZINE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGERS. Air & Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA, , 8-9, (2014).
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory’s (NERL’s) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts research in support of EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment. HEASD’s research program supports Goal 1 (Clean Air) and Goal 4 (Healthy People) of EPA’s strategic plan. More specifically, our division conducts research to characterize the movement of pollutants from the source to contact with humans. Our multidisciplinary research program produces Methods, Measurements, and Models to identify relationships between and characterize processes that link source emissions, environmental concentrations, human exposures, and target-tissue dose. The impact of these tools is improved regulatory programs and policies for EPA.
Description:
The purpose of this research effort was to develop an understanding of what technology might prove valuable in conducting the next generation of air monitoring. Upon their discovery, such technologies were obtained in collaboration with inventors and commercial and research organizations and examined under controlled laboratory conditions. If found to be acceptable, devices might be recommended for incorporation in the next phase of testing, short pilot studies involving direct environmental monitoring and comparison to collocated reference methods. The following evaluation criteria were established for each candidate sensor technology: (1) linearity of response (range), (2) precision of measurements, (3) lowest established concentration in which a response was detected (lower detectable limit [LDL]), (4) concentration resolution, (5) response time, (6) interference equivalents, and (7) relative humidity (RH) and temperature influences. This manuscript describes the experimental systems required to assess the performance of such technologies.