Grantee Research Project Results
2019 Progress Report: Engage, Educate, and Empower California Communities on the Use and Applications of Low-cost Air Monitoring Sensors
EPA Grant Number: R836184Title: Engage, Educate, and Empower California Communities on the Use and Applications of Low-cost Air Monitoring Sensors
Investigators: Polidori, Andrea , Zhu, Yifang , Fine, Philip M. , Low, Jason , Hafner, Hilary
Current Investigators: Polidori, Andrea , Zhu, Yifang , Fine, Philip M. , Tisopulos, Laki , Dye, Timothy S , Hafner, Hilary
Institution: South Coast Air Quality Management District , University of California - Los Angeles , Sonoma Technology, Inc.
EPA Project Officer: Callan, Richard
Project Period: May 1, 2016 through April 30, 2019 (Extended to April 30, 2022)
Project Period Covered by this Report: May 1, 2019 through April 30,2020
Project Amount: $749,820
RFA: Air Pollution Monitoring for Communities (2014) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Environmental Justice , Air Quality and Air Toxics , Air , Particulate Matter
Objective:
The overall objective of the proposed research is to provide California communities with the knowledge necessary to appropriately select, use, and maintain 'low-cost' sensors and to correctly interpret sensor data. This will be accomplished by pursuing the following four specific aims: (1) develop new methodologies to educate and engage communities on the use and applications of 'low-cost' sensors; (2) conduct testing to characterize the performance of commercially available 'low-cost' sensors and to identify candidates for field deployment; (3) deploy the selected sensors in California communities, and interpret the collected data; and (4) communicate the lessons learned to the public through a series of outreach activities.
Progress Summary:
Aim 1. South Coast AQMD continued to work with STI (co-Principal Investigator) on the draft Guidebook for the Educational Toolkit with a focus on finalizing the content, which encompasses the three major stages of community air monitoring: planning, deployment, and community action. In addition to finalizing the content, STI has begun working to establish a consistent graphic design for the Guidebook which will enhance the resource's effectiveness at communicating the content. South Coast AQMD and STI also continued to revise and develop additional components that will be included in the Educational Toolkit (i.e., training videos, data collection checklists, e-surveys, questionnaires.). South Coast AQMD worked with UCLA (co-Principal Investigator), Special Service for Groups (Asian Pacific Forward Movement), and other project partner organizations and air quality agencies to conduct workshops that provided the opportunity to share project results and gather additional feedback from participants. The 'during-the-deployment' workshops were completed during this period, and the team began conducting the final workshops (four of which have been completed). As deployments came to an end, an analysis was undertaken of all survey data, feedback from community members (gathered in workshops and in reports from community leads), and data related to sensor usage. This analysis provides insight into the usability and usefulness of low-cost sensors, which has informed the development of the Educational Toolkit and is being shared with communities in the final workshops. During this period, South Coast AQMD entered into a contract with Mazama Science and the collaborative work has resulted into the development of the AirSensor and DataViewer package. The AirSensor is a publicly available, open-source, R-package that facilitates easier access to data from the project sensors, functions to process that data, and tools for analysis and visualization. The DataViewer is a web-based application that leverages the capabilities of the AirSensor to allow project participants to engage with their sensor data in an intuitive way (i.e., this tool is user friendly and no programming experience is required).
Aim 3. In the past reporting period, the deployments in all communities were concluded. In total, 395 low-cost PM sensors were distributed on a 1-to-1 (host-sensor) basis to community members in the participating communities and approximately 66% of those sensors were installed and reported fine and coarse particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) concentration levels (see Figure below). Furthermore, 91% of installed sensors provided either continuous data for at least 6 months (often far longer) or were maintained by project participants (i.e., participants addressed issues as needed to keep sensors functioning, such as connections to WiFi). This willingness to maintain sensors speaks to the engagement of the participants and resulted in the collection of longer datasets. An analysis of the community-level data was shared with each community in which final workshops have been conducted, leveraging the AirSensor package and DataViewer. Some communities also completed their own analysis of the local data and produced reports. Included in the development of the AirSensor and DataViewer package was the establishment of procedures for data processing and QA/QC. These procedures will support additional comprehensive and systematic analysis of the aggregate sensor data from all communities.
Aim 4. During this reporting period, a manuscript was drafted and submitted providing an overview of and introduction to the AirSensor and DataViewer package. Another manuscript was drafted sharing lessons learned and results pertaining to sensor usability and usefulness that may benefit both the low-cost sensor research community and members of the public interested in using sensors.
Figure 1. Sensors deployed in 14 California communities between October 2017 and April 2020.
Future Activities:
Aim 1. The Educational Toolkit will be completed during the next reporting cycle. This resource will include the Guidebook, and items such as training videos, data collection checklists, e-surveys, and questionnaires. A new contract with Mazama Science will support the expansion and enhancement of the AirSensor and DataViewer package, another component of the Educational Toolkit. These tools will be enhanced based on feedback from participating community members as well as internal experience of project staff resulting in more robust tools with expanded capabilities.
Aim 3. We will complete a final analysis and interpretation of the data for each community. This analysis as well as other results and lessons learned will be shared at the remaining final workshops. We will also complete a final validation, analysis, and interpretation of the aggregate data collected in all communities. This aggregate data includes multiple years and many sensors from networks in 14 different communities.
Aim 4. During the upcoming reporting period, the remaining final workshops will be held to share the results from the project (including lessons learned), distribute incentives, and gather final feedback. These meetings also provide an opportunity to disseminate new resources that have been made developed through this project, including the AirSensor and DataViewer package. South Coast AQMD and partners also intended to continue to disseminate results, lessons learned, and project outputs through publications, conferences, and webinars.
Journal Articles on this Report : 3 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 32 publications | 9 publications in selected types | All 9 journal articles |
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Williams R, Duvall R, Kilaru V, Hagler G, Hassinger L, Benedict K, Rice J, Kaufman A, Judge R, Pierce G, Allen G, Bergin M, Cohen RC, Fransioli P, Gerboles M, Habre R, Hannigan M, Jack D, Louie O, Martin N, Penza M, Polidori A, Subramanian R, Ray K, Schauer J, Seto E, Thurnston G, Turner J, Wexler AS, Ning Z. Deliberating performance targets workshop:potential paths for emerging PM2.5 and O3 air sensor progress. Atmospheric Environment 2019;2:100031, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeaoa.2019.100031 |
R836184 (2018) R836184 (2019) |
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Feenstra B, Papapostolou V, Hasheminassab S, Zhang H, Der Boghossian B, Cocker D, Polidori A. Performance evaluation of twelve low-cost PM2.5 sensors in an urban ambient air environment. Atmospheric Environment 2019;216: 116946 |
R836184 (2018) R836184 (2019) |
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Collier-Oxandale A, Feenstra B, Papapostolou V, Zhang H, Kuang M, Der Boghossian B, Polidori A. Field and laboratory performance evaluations of 28 gas-phase air quality sensors by the AQ-SPEC program. Atmospheric Environment 2020;220:117092. |
R836184 (2019) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
community recruitment, community engagement, community education, community empowerment, sensor testing, sensor selection, sensor deployment, particulate matter, PM2.5, PM10, ozone, data interpretation, public outreach, community outreach, educational outreach, STEMRelevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.
Project Research Results
- Final Report
- 2020 Progress Report
- 2018 Progress Report
- 2017 Progress Report
- 2016 Progress Report
- Original Abstract
9 journal articles for this project