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Recent Developments in Air Monitoring Technology Relevant to Wildfire Smoke
Citation:
Hagler, G. Recent Developments in Air Monitoring Technology Relevant to Wildfire Smoke. APHA 2018 Annual Meeting and Expo, San Diego, CA, November 12 - 14, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
This is a presentation for a public health-oriented scientific conference. It provides a broad background on developments in air monitoring technology and the current status of knowledge on their use during wildfire events.
Description:
Wildfires are highly variable and intense sources of air pollutant emissions, inducing significant pollution episodes in downwind communities. The current regulatory air monitoring network in the United States may not fully capture pollution exposure in smoke impacted communities, depending upon the geographic location of the fire and direction of smoke transit. Meanwhile, a new class of air monitoring technology – miniaturized and lower cost air pollutant sensors – has emerged and is quickly increasing in use among the research community, the private sector, state and local monitoring agencies, and the general public. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5, or particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers) is one of the primary pollutants of interest for wildfire smoke exposure and a significant number of different PM2.5 air sensor devices currently exist on the market. While a number of studies have demonstrated the performance of PM2.5 sensors under typical ambient conditions, only a limited number of research efforts have addressed their performance during wildfire smoke conditions. This presentation will provide a broad overview of the state of air sensor technology as well as discuss the latest findings on air sensor use to characterize wildfire smoke exposure. We will also highlight preliminary results from an EPA multi-regional research project that deployed next-generation PM2.5 air sensors during recent wild??re smoke events in the West to evaluate sensor performance and accuracy during wildfires.
