MAHOOL
Air Pollution Sensing
and Data Acquisition
Research and Links:
http://www.who.int/indoorair/en/
“Around 3 billion people cook and heat their homes using solid fuels (i.e. wood, charcoal, coal, dung, crop wastes) on open fires or traditional stoves. Such inefficient cooking and heating practices produce high levels of household (indoor) air pollution which includes a range of health damaging pollutants such as fine particles and carbon monoxide.
According to WHO, 4.3 million people a year die from the exposure to household air pollution.”
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/ia-intro.html
“EPA’s Indoor Environments Division is tasked with carrying out research and creating awareness among the public indoor environmental issues, including health risks and the means by which human exposures can be reduced. IED educates the public about health risks associated with a variety of indoor environmental pollutants and sources of pollution, including radon, mold and moisture, secondhand smoke, indoor wood smoke, and environmental asthma triggers. ”
“Environment Protection Department, Punjab created Environment Protection Agency (EPA) which is responsible for the protection, conservation, rehabilitation and improvement of the environment; the prevention and control of pollution; and promotion of sustainable development in the province.
EPA is building on its successes with the environment through reliable and effective regulations, legislation and high-quality service delivery. EPA sustains qualitative and quantitative standards for the discharge of effluents, wastes, air emissions or noise either for general applicability or for a particular area or from a particular source in the form of Punjab Environmental Quality Standards (PEQS) and other standards established under the laws, rules and regulations. ”
http://www.cleancookstoves.org/
“Cleancookstoves is a public-private partnership hosted by the UN Foundation to save lives, improves livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions. The Alliance’s 100 by ‘20 goal calls for 100 million households to adopt clean and efficient cook stoves and fuels by 2020. We are working with a strong network of public, private and non-profit partners to help overcome the market barriers that currently impede the production, deployment, and use of clean cook stoves in developing countries. ”
http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/documents/9241594169/en/
http://practicalaction.org/improved-cooking-stoves
“A shortage of fuel for cooking is one of the many problems faced by people in the developing world. Gathering fuel is generally women’s work but is fraught with dangers; they gamble with the risk of rape and life threatening attacks during their search for much needed firewood, in order to feed their families. In certain areas, local sources of firewood are completely depleted, leading women to travel further and further afield or to dig up tree roots, eliminating any chance of the trees growing again. Even if women survive this, they are still exposing themselves and their children to potentially deadly smoke fumes. ”
greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Types_of_Air_pollution
“Particulate pollution also takes a place at the top of the list of most dangerous to human health, and is very widespread throughout the environment. This type of air pollution consists of solid and liquid particles made up of ash, metals, soot, diesel exhaust, and chemicals. Particle pollution is produced by the burning of coal in power plants and other industries, and by the use of diesel fuel in passenger vehicles, cargo vehicles, and heavy equipment. Wood burning is a source of particle pollution, as are many of today's agricultural practices. Capable of triggering strokes, heart attacks, and irregular heart rates, particle pollution can be dangerous even in low concentrations. Lung cancer and premature birth have also been linked to exposure to particle pollution, and it is known to irritate respiratory conditions, including asthma and cause coughing, wheezing, and even shorter life spans. ”
http://www.snvworld.org/en/countries/pakistan
“In Pakistan, SNV has worked together with RSPN in the implementation of the Pakistan Domestic Biogas Program since 2009. This is a 5-year program being implemented in 9 districts of Central Punjab by the Rural Support Program Network (RSPN) in partnership with local and national stakeholders. The first nine months of the program were funded by SNV, while the remaining four years after October 2009 till October 2013 is being funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Pakistan, with technical assistance from SNV and Winrock International. ”
http://www.washplus.org/links/indoor-air-quality
“University of California-Berkeley - The website contains research articles and information on IAQ research projects.
Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA) - The PCIA partnership has more than 400 members. The website contains issues of the PCIA newsletter, PCIA conference proceedings, news and other resources.”
“A recent World Health Organization (WHO) outdoor air quality report found that India is home to six of the top 10 cities with the highest air pollution. India’s capital, Delhi, tops the list with the highest rate of air pollution in the world. Outdoor air pollution killed 3.7 million people worldwide in 2012 and is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk.
And the energy demanded by Indians —already 18 percent of the world’s population—is set to increase by 132 percent by 2035, according to the BP Energy Outlook 2035. With one-fourth of India’s population still without access to electricity, affordable, innovative clean energy products hold tremendous promise not only for India, but the entire planet. ”
“Between 2002 and 2012, 590 Partner organizations joined together through the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air to contribute their resources and expertise to reduce smoke exposure from cooking and heating practices in households around the world. This collaborative effort was focused on four essential elements of effective and sustainable household energy and health programs:
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Meeting the needs of local communities for clean, efficient, affordable and safe cooking and heating options;
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Improving cooking technologies, fuels and practices for reducing indoor air pollution;
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Developing commercial markets for clean and efficient technologies and fuels; and
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Monitoring and evaluating the health, social, economic and environmental impact of household energy interventions. ”
http://ehs.sph.berkeley.edu/indexhtml/
“Professor Smith and his research group address the relationships among environmental quality, health, resource use, development, and policy in developing countries, with a focus on the health effects of air pollution exposure in developing countries, particularly in women and children from household air pollution due to solid fuel use.”
http://www.aeroqual.com/company
“Aeroqual is leading the move towards sensor-based air quality monitoring, a technology and market shift that promises to deliver better air quality for governments, industry, and citizens alike.
A community-led air quality sensing network that gives people a way to participate in the conversation about air quality.
The Air Quality Egg is a sensor system designed to allow anyone to collect very high resolution readings of NO2 and CO concentrations outside of their home. These two gases are the most indicative elements related to urban air pollution that are sense-able by inexpensive, DIY sensors.”
http://www.libelium.com/smart_cities_wsn_air_pollution/
“Waspmote along with the gases sensor board allows monitoring of nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, hydrogen sulphide, hydrocarbons and ozone to determine the quality of the air we breathe.
· Nitrogen dioxide (NO2): it is a gas produced by the rapid oxidation of NO, which is produced by burning fossil fuels in vehicles and industry. It is a toxic and irritating gas that affects the respiratory system and also encourages the production of nitric acid (HNO3) responsible for acid rain.
· Carbon dioxide (CO2): it is a gas naturally present in our atmosphere. Together with water vapor and other gases is one of the greenhouse gases that regulate Earth's temperature. Production in excess as a result of increased fossil fuel usage could have a direct impact on climate change.
· Carbon monoxide (CO): it is produced in incomplete combustion, i.e., when part of the fuel does not react completely due to a lack of oxygen. Its danger to humans and animals, once it sets in blood hemoglobin, it prevents oxygen transport, which can be lethal. Although in open space is easily diluted, the CO emission from the engines of cars in congested areas causes may have rates of 50-100ppm, which are dangerous.
· Methane (CH4): it is produced when organic material decomposes in oxygen-poor environments. As carbon dioxide, it is a greenhouse gas so its increase may contribute to global warming.
· Hydrogen sulfide (H2S): it is emitted into the atmosphere by various industries, such as paper. It is particularly dangerous because it is a highly toxic gas and it is a sulfur dioxide precursor, one of the gases in the processes of formation of acid rain. In addition, this gas is especially annoying because of its foul smell.
· Hydorcarbons (Ethanol, Propane, Butane, Isobutane and Toluene): they come from various sources, such as poor combustion of gasoline and diesel or industrial processes. They are, among others, responsible for greenhouse effect and contribute to produce respiratory problems.
· Ozone (O3): it is a natural constituent that can be found at sea level with a concentration of 0.01 mg / kg. However, with intense solar radiation and high contamination coming from vehicles, its concentration can go up to 0.1 mg / kg being dangerous. In this proportion, the plants may be affected and human may experience irritation of nasal passages and throat and dryness in the lining of the respiratory tracts. ”
http://makezine.com/2014/05/31/air-quality-sensors-how-good-is-good-enough/
A blog about air quality sensors by Tim Dye of Sonoma Tech:
“People constantly ask me: What’s the quality of this sensor? How good is it? Does it really work? They ask me because I work at Sonoma Technology, Inc. (STI), which provides high-end consulting to air quality agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. At STI, we use expensive, extremely accurate instruments to assess air quality conditions for scientific studies that affect policy and regulatory decisions. But at home, during nights and weekends, I’m hacking and working with low-cost air quality monitors with the DIY, non-profit, and maker communities.”
http://www.suparco.gov.pk/pages/abstract.asp?paperid=63
“Total 310 samples were collected during the period under study, i.e., from November 2005 to December 2007. High PM2.5 loads were observed in winter, which were approximately 4 times greater than those observed in the summer, spring, fall and monsoon seasons in the yearlong measurements. Source apportionment was performed on short duration analysis results of November 2005 to March 2006 using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model. The results derived from PMF model indicated that the major contributors to PM2.5 in Lahore are: soil/road dust, industrial emissions, vehicular emissions and secondary aerosols.”
https://www.soselectronic.com/a_info/resource/c/figaro/TGS2442.pdf
“TGS 2442 displays good selectivity to carbon monoxide, making it ideal for CO monitors. In the presence of CO, the sensor's conductivity increases depending on the gas concentration in the air. A simple pulsed electrical circuit operating on a one second circuit voltage cycle can convert the change in conductivity to an output signal which corresponds to gas concentration.”
http://skpang.co.uk/catalog/electronic-brick-smoke-sensormq2-p-581.html
“They are used in gas leakage detecting equipment in family and industry, are suitable for detecting of LPG, i-butane, propane, methane, alcohol, hydrogen and smoke.”
http://store.arduino.cc/product/A000066
“The Arduino UNO R3 is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with an AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started.”
https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Components/DS1307.pdf
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9689
“Sharp’s GP2Y1010AU0F is an optical air quality sensor, designed to sense dust particles. An infrared emitting diode and a phototransistor are diagonally arranged into this device, to allow it to detect the reflected light of dust in air. It is especially effective in detecting very fine particles like cigarette smoke, and is commonly used in air purifier systems.”
This site lists the NGOs operating in Pakistan.
http://www.aeroqual.com/wp-content/uploads/Inside-the-AQM-65-Infographic.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/airscience/docs/air-sensor-guidebook.pdf
This document discusses the availability and use of air quality sensors.
“This Air Sensor Guidebook has been developed by the U.S. EPA to assist those interested in potentially using lower cost air quality sensor technologies for air quality measurements. Its development was in direct response to a request for such a document following a recent scientific conference (Apps and Sensors for Air Pollution-2012). Low cost air quality sensors ($100-$2500) are now commercially available in a wide variety of designs and capabilities. This is an emerging technology area and one that is quickly evolving. Even so, their availability has resulted in questions from many as to how they might be used appropriately. This document attempts to provide useful information concerning some of those questions.”
It is a site about a project funded by the European Research Council. Led by Dr. Jennifer Gabrys, it investigates the link between technologies and environmental sensing.
“Through intensive fieldwork, study and use of sensing applications, the project areas set out to contextualize, question and expand upon the understandings and possibilities of democratized environmental action through citizen sensing practices. The first project area, “Wild Sensing,” focuses on the use of sensors to map and track flora and fauna activity and habitats. The second project area, “Pollution Sensing,” concentrates on the increasing use of sensors to detect environmental disturbance, including air and water pollution. The third project area investigates “Urban Sensing,” and focuses on urban sustainability or “smart city” projects that implement sensor technologies to realize more efficient or environmentally sound urban processes.”
http://www.howmuchsnow.com/arduino/airquality/
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