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South Philadelphia Passive Sampler Method project communication sheet
Citation:
Thoma, E. South Philadelphia Passive Sampler Method project communication sheet. US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, 2013.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide a description of the project for general communication purposes.
Description:
The Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development (EPA ORD), EPA Region 3, and the City of Philadelphia Air Measurements Services (AMS) are collaborating on research project in South Philadelphia starting in the spring of 2013. This project investigates how low cost sensor and passive sampler measurement systems can help improve information on air pollutant concentration variability in areas with many potential sources (like South Philadelphia). The South Philadelphia research study focuses on understanding new ways to use passive samplers (PSs). A PS is a three inch long, ¼-inch diameter stainless steel tube filled with a sorbent material (a special form of charcoal). When the tube is exposed to the air, some air pollutants accumulate on the sorbent material and move up the tube through the process of diffusion. After two weeks of exposure to ambient air, the tube is capped and sent to a laboratory for analysis, providing a time-averaged concentration measurement of select air pollutants.