You are here:
EPA Tools & Resources Webinar: How to evaluate air sensors for smoke monitoring applications
Citation:
Holder, A., A. Clements, AND K. Barkjohn. EPA Tools & Resources Webinar: How to evaluate air sensors for smoke monitoring applications. EPA Tools and Resources Webinar, NA, February 16, 2022.
Impact/Purpose:
Interest and concern about air quality has grown in recent years especially during wildfires. Simultaneously, growth in the popularity and use of air sensors across the US has also occurred. However, air sensors need to be evaluated carefully to understand their performance under wildfire smoke. This presentation will provide the public guidance on how to evaluate air sensors during smoke impacts. These slides will be presented at a public EPA tools and resources webinar 2/16/2022.
Description:
Wildfire smoke is increasing across the United States. Smoke from fires can vary greatly in space and time. In recent years, western states have enacted outdoor worker wildfire smoke protection programs that require engineering and administrative controls above certain AQI thresholds. For these reasons we need accurate sensors for smoke monitoring applications. Recently EPA released performance testing protocols, metrics, and target values for PM2.5 air sensors. These protocols are a good foundation for sensor evaluations, however, there are additional considerations for smoke impacts. Sensors used for smoke need to be evaluated at higher time resolutions, over a wider concentration range, and in more locations. It is important to also consider the monitor type used for comparison as many federal equivalent methods are not evaluated under extreme smoke conditions. The “comparability assessment tool” is one resource to understand whether the performance of a local Federal Equivalent Monitor (FEM) is accurate. Here we present recommendations for evaluating smoke sensors and provide additional resources that may be useful for those evaluating sensors for smoke.
URLs/Downloads:
EPA TOOLS AND RESOURCES WEINAR HOW TO EVALUATE AIR SENSORS FOR SMOKE MONITORING APPLICATIONS.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 4118.593 KB, about PDF)https://www.epa.gov/research-states/how-evaluate-air-sensors-smoke-monitoring-webinar-archive