files/Mwyd2ABaQEaXqQIpzzjF coverstory
Cover Story by Susan S.G. Wierman
Making the Most of
New Air Quality Monitoring Technology
Whether you are an air quality regulator, researcher, or advisor to business owners and concerned citizens, your work will be affected by the growing use of the new air monitoring technology known as sensors. In this issue of EM, you will find useful tips on how to ensure that sensor data quality is sufficient for the anticipated use of the data, learn about projects federal and state agencies are undertaking to prepare for more frequent use of sensors, and explore an approach for interpreting the significance of one-minute sensor readings.
em • The Magazine for Environmental Managers • A&WMA • November 2016
Cover Story by Susan S.G. Wierman
Sensor technology began affecting how we measure air quality many years ago. As pointed out in 2012 by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advisory panel charged with identifying needs for technologies to help address environmental problems in vulnerable communities, “Data gathered by residents can start a powerful, constructive process of community-driven environmental change.”1 Responding to the growing challenge, in 2013 EPA published its “DRAFT Roadmap for Next Generation Air Monitoring.”2 In a 2014 EM article, Robert Judge and Chet Wayland, both of EPA, called upon “EPA and the states, as well as the public, [to] seize the opportunity to better understand the quality control and quality assurance issues associated with these new devices and embrace their strengths, as well as recognize their weaknesses.”3 Several years of effort by EPA and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) have yielded important
resources for those considering the use of sensors. EPA took several actions to follow up on recommendations in its Roadmap, including evaluating sensor performance, posting a Sensor Toolbox for Citizen Scientists, and developing the Real-time Geospatial Data Viewer (RETIGO) tool to analyze and display sensor data.4,5 In their 2014 EM article, Philip Fine and Andrea Polidori of SCAQMD described components of a potential website for sensor information.6 The Air Quality Sensor Performance Evaluation Center they envisioned, AQ-SPEC, is online (http://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations) and provides information about sensor design and the results of numerous performance tests conducted by SCAQMD. EPA recently issued grants to promote both scientific research about and public engagement with sensor technology (see “EPA Grants Promote Research and Community Engagement”). At the time this issue was in preparation, EPA had also announced
EPA Grants Promote Research and Community Engagement On August 9, 2016, EPA announced grants to six research organizations to develop and use low-cost air pollution sensor technology while engaging communities to learn about local air quality. 1. Carnegie Mellon University will study the accuracy of air pollution sensors and the usefulness of the data. Air quality modeling will be combined with sensor data to develop maps and other tools for displaying air quality information. Researchers will collaborate with local community groups in Pittsburgh to help them understand the data and how the findings might be used to reduce exposure to air pollutants. 2. Kansas State University will create a partnership with local organizations in South Chicago to evaluate the effects of communityled research on the community’s understanding of air pollution. Researchers will develop sustainable, local strategies to monitor, analyze, and share measurement results about air pollutants. 3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology will create the Hawaii Island Volcanic Smog Sensor Network using air pollution sensors to track air quality changes caused by emissions from the Kilauea volcano and affecting health and agricultural crops. The project will emphasize community engagement in collaboration with the Kohala Center in Waimea, Hawaii, and with local schools and health centers. 4. Research Triangle Institute will create a framework to empower communities near Denver, Colorado, to design and conduct air quality monitoring studies. Researchers will use low-cost sensors to address local concerns in collaboration with National Jewish Health in Denver and the communities of Globeville and Elyria Swansea, Colorado. 5. The South Coast Air Quality Management District in collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles will engage California communities on the use, accuracy, and application of low-cost air monitoring sensors. The project will also develop a toolkit with best practices for data collection and data interpretation from these sensors. 6. The University of Washington will use low-cost, next-generation air particle sensors to address wood smoke exposures within Yakima Nation and Latino populations in rural Washington State. Researchers will work with local students to understand and help reduce the community’s exposure to wood smoke. In collaboration with Heritage University in Toppenish, WA, the team will also create a curriculum adaptable for other settings.
em • The Magazine for Environmental Managers • A&WMA • November 2016
Cover Story by Susan S.G. Wierman
an additional grant opportunity, the “Smart City Air Challenge” to provide partial funding for two U.S. communities to deploy and manage data from hundreds of air quality monitors. The following three articles in this issue continue to advance our understanding of the appropriate use of sensors: • “Air Sensor Study Design—Details Matter” by Tim Dye, Ashley Graham, and Hilary Hafner provides useful tips on how to tailor study designs to ensure data quality is sufficient to meet study objectives. • “Advanced Monitoring Technology: Opportunities and Challenges…A Path Forward for EPA, States and Tribes” by David Hindin and coauthors describes five projects to help EPA and state environmental agencies prepare for advances in monitoring technology. • “Interpreting and Communicating Short-Term Air Sensor Data” by Martha Keating and coauthors explains an approach EPA is testing to help interpret the significance of 1-minute sensor readings for ozone or particulate matter.
Effective control of air pollution requires a congruence of science, technology, and political will. Modern technology provides the ability to rapidly deliver large amounts of data, and a matching ability to verify, organize, analyze, and interpret that data is critical. A scientific approach to understanding the causes and effects of air pollution requires high quality data. In a recent article in Nature Alastair Lewis and Peter Edwards stress the importance of independent testing and verification of sensor performance. They call upon sensor manufacturers and regulators to verify performance and define appropriate uses “…so that these technologies can realize their huge potential.”7 The development, testing, and improvement of low-cost easily operated air quality sensors along with better methods for interpreting sensor data continue to expand opportunities for what Rebecca French, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at EPA’s Office of Research and Development, has called “a new paradigm for environmental protection, one where air quality data is accessible and usable by everyone.”8 em
Susan S.G. Wierman is executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association Inc., Towson, MD. She is an A&WMA Fellow, a long-time member and past chair of EM’s Editorial Advisory Committee, and a member of A&WMA’s Publication Committee. E-mail: [email protected].
References 1. “Technologies for environmental Justice Communities and Other Vulnerable Populations.” Letter/report to the Honorable Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology, February 15, 2012. 2. “DRAFT Roadmap for Next Generation Air Monitoring;” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, March 8, 2013. See http://www.eunetair.it/cost/newsroom/ 03-US-EPA_Roadmap_NGAM-March2013.pdf. 3. Judge, R.; Wayland, R.A. Regulatory considerations of Lower Cost Air Pollution Sensor Data Performance; EM, August 2014, p. 37. 4. “Air Sensor Toolbox for Citizen Scientists;” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. See https://www.epa.gov/air-research/air-sensor-toolbox-citizen-scientists-resources. 5. “Real-time Geospatial Data Viewer (RETIGO): An Environmental Protection Agency Web-based Tool for Researchers and Citizen Scientists to Explore their Measurements;” Science in Action Fact Sheet, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, February 2016. See https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/ 2016-01/ documents/retigo-fact-sheet3.pdf. 6. Fine, P.M.; Polidori, A. Designing a Sensor Information Clearinghouse; EM, August 2014, p. 28. 7. Lewis, A.; Edwards, P. Validate personal air-pollution sensors; Nature News & Comment, July 6, 2016; available online at http://www.nature.com/news/validatepersonal-air-pollution-sensors-1.20195. 8. French, R. Public Participation in Air Quality Monitoring: A New Frontier in Citizen Science; EM, August 2014, p. 21.
In Next Month’s Issue… Freight Transport and the Environment This issue will look at emissions, regulations, technology, and environmental management approaches to manage the environmental concerns associated with trucks, ships, trains, planes, and their supporting infrastructure. Also look for… PM File IPEP Quarterly
em • The Magazine for Environmental Managers • A&WMA • November 2016
Making the Most of
New Air Quality Monitoring Technology
Whether you are an air quality regulator, researcher, or advisor to business owners and concerned citizens, your work will be affected by the growing use of the new air monitoring technology known as sensors. In this issue of EM, you will find useful tips on how to ensure that sensor data quality is sufficient for the anticipated use of the data, learn about projects federal and state agencies are undertaking to prepare for more frequent use of sensors, and explore an approach for interpreting the significance of one-minute sensor readings.
em • The Magazine for Environmental Managers • A&WMA • November 2016
Cover Story by Susan S.G. Wierman
Sensor technology began affecting how we measure air quality many years ago. As pointed out in 2012 by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advisory panel charged with identifying needs for technologies to help address environmental problems in vulnerable communities, “Data gathered by residents can start a powerful, constructive process of community-driven environmental change.”1 Responding to the growing challenge, in 2013 EPA published its “DRAFT Roadmap for Next Generation Air Monitoring.”2 In a 2014 EM article, Robert Judge and Chet Wayland, both of EPA, called upon “EPA and the states, as well as the public, [to] seize the opportunity to better understand the quality control and quality assurance issues associated with these new devices and embrace their strengths, as well as recognize their weaknesses.”3 Several years of effort by EPA and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) have yielded important
resources for those considering the use of sensors. EPA took several actions to follow up on recommendations in its Roadmap, including evaluating sensor performance, posting a Sensor Toolbox for Citizen Scientists, and developing the Real-time Geospatial Data Viewer (RETIGO) tool to analyze and display sensor data.4,5 In their 2014 EM article, Philip Fine and Andrea Polidori of SCAQMD described components of a potential website for sensor information.6 The Air Quality Sensor Performance Evaluation Center they envisioned, AQ-SPEC, is online (http://www.aqmd.gov/aq-spec/evaluations) and provides information about sensor design and the results of numerous performance tests conducted by SCAQMD. EPA recently issued grants to promote both scientific research about and public engagement with sensor technology (see “EPA Grants Promote Research and Community Engagement”). At the time this issue was in preparation, EPA had also announced
EPA Grants Promote Research and Community Engagement On August 9, 2016, EPA announced grants to six research organizations to develop and use low-cost air pollution sensor technology while engaging communities to learn about local air quality. 1. Carnegie Mellon University will study the accuracy of air pollution sensors and the usefulness of the data. Air quality modeling will be combined with sensor data to develop maps and other tools for displaying air quality information. Researchers will collaborate with local community groups in Pittsburgh to help them understand the data and how the findings might be used to reduce exposure to air pollutants. 2. Kansas State University will create a partnership with local organizations in South Chicago to evaluate the effects of communityled research on the community’s understanding of air pollution. Researchers will develop sustainable, local strategies to monitor, analyze, and share measurement results about air pollutants. 3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology will create the Hawaii Island Volcanic Smog Sensor Network using air pollution sensors to track air quality changes caused by emissions from the Kilauea volcano and affecting health and agricultural crops. The project will emphasize community engagement in collaboration with the Kohala Center in Waimea, Hawaii, and with local schools and health centers. 4. Research Triangle Institute will create a framework to empower communities near Denver, Colorado, to design and conduct air quality monitoring studies. Researchers will use low-cost sensors to address local concerns in collaboration with National Jewish Health in Denver and the communities of Globeville and Elyria Swansea, Colorado. 5. The South Coast Air Quality Management District in collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles will engage California communities on the use, accuracy, and application of low-cost air monitoring sensors. The project will also develop a toolkit with best practices for data collection and data interpretation from these sensors. 6. The University of Washington will use low-cost, next-generation air particle sensors to address wood smoke exposures within Yakima Nation and Latino populations in rural Washington State. Researchers will work with local students to understand and help reduce the community’s exposure to wood smoke. In collaboration with Heritage University in Toppenish, WA, the team will also create a curriculum adaptable for other settings.
em • The Magazine for Environmental Managers • A&WMA • November 2016
Cover Story by Susan S.G. Wierman
an additional grant opportunity, the “Smart City Air Challenge” to provide partial funding for two U.S. communities to deploy and manage data from hundreds of air quality monitors. The following three articles in this issue continue to advance our understanding of the appropriate use of sensors: • “Air Sensor Study Design—Details Matter” by Tim Dye, Ashley Graham, and Hilary Hafner provides useful tips on how to tailor study designs to ensure data quality is sufficient to meet study objectives. • “Advanced Monitoring Technology: Opportunities and Challenges…A Path Forward for EPA, States and Tribes” by David Hindin and coauthors describes five projects to help EPA and state environmental agencies prepare for advances in monitoring technology. • “Interpreting and Communicating Short-Term Air Sensor Data” by Martha Keating and coauthors explains an approach EPA is testing to help interpret the significance of 1-minute sensor readings for ozone or particulate matter.
Effective control of air pollution requires a congruence of science, technology, and political will. Modern technology provides the ability to rapidly deliver large amounts of data, and a matching ability to verify, organize, analyze, and interpret that data is critical. A scientific approach to understanding the causes and effects of air pollution requires high quality data. In a recent article in Nature Alastair Lewis and Peter Edwards stress the importance of independent testing and verification of sensor performance. They call upon sensor manufacturers and regulators to verify performance and define appropriate uses “…so that these technologies can realize their huge potential.”7 The development, testing, and improvement of low-cost easily operated air quality sensors along with better methods for interpreting sensor data continue to expand opportunities for what Rebecca French, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at EPA’s Office of Research and Development, has called “a new paradigm for environmental protection, one where air quality data is accessible and usable by everyone.”8 em
Susan S.G. Wierman is executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association Inc., Towson, MD. She is an A&WMA Fellow, a long-time member and past chair of EM’s Editorial Advisory Committee, and a member of A&WMA’s Publication Committee. E-mail: [email protected].
References 1. “Technologies for environmental Justice Communities and Other Vulnerable Populations.” Letter/report to the Honorable Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology, February 15, 2012. 2. “DRAFT Roadmap for Next Generation Air Monitoring;” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, March 8, 2013. See http://www.eunetair.it/cost/newsroom/ 03-US-EPA_Roadmap_NGAM-March2013.pdf. 3. Judge, R.; Wayland, R.A. Regulatory considerations of Lower Cost Air Pollution Sensor Data Performance; EM, August 2014, p. 37. 4. “Air Sensor Toolbox for Citizen Scientists;” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. See https://www.epa.gov/air-research/air-sensor-toolbox-citizen-scientists-resources. 5. “Real-time Geospatial Data Viewer (RETIGO): An Environmental Protection Agency Web-based Tool for Researchers and Citizen Scientists to Explore their Measurements;” Science in Action Fact Sheet, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, February 2016. See https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/ 2016-01/ documents/retigo-fact-sheet3.pdf. 6. Fine, P.M.; Polidori, A. Designing a Sensor Information Clearinghouse; EM, August 2014, p. 28. 7. Lewis, A.; Edwards, P. Validate personal air-pollution sensors; Nature News & Comment, July 6, 2016; available online at http://www.nature.com/news/validatepersonal-air-pollution-sensors-1.20195. 8. French, R. Public Participation in Air Quality Monitoring: A New Frontier in Citizen Science; EM, August 2014, p. 21.
In Next Month’s Issue… Freight Transport and the Environment This issue will look at emissions, regulations, technology, and environmental management approaches to manage the environmental concerns associated with trucks, ships, trains, planes, and their supporting infrastructure. Also look for… PM File IPEP Quarterly
em • The Magazine for Environmental Managers • A&WMA • November 2016
