Klamath County Public
Health
The
Air Quality Advisory for today Wednesday May 1, until noon, tomorrow Thursday
May 2, IS GREEN
The
Green
Advisory Call means:
1. ALL WOODSTOVES,
PELLET STOVES AND FIREPLACES MAY BE USED INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE AQ ZONE as
per Klamath County Ordinance 406.100.
2. Outdoor burning is
allowed outside the Air Quality Zone. Check with your local fire district for
their open burn permit.
3. Outdoor burning is
prohibited inside the Air Quality Zone.
The 2019 Spring Open Burn Window has ended. Outdoor burning
inside the Air Quality Zone is prohibited.
Air Quality Awareness Week,
begins today. EPA will make the website live today Monday, April 29,
the first day of AQAW (see https://www.airnow.gov/airaware).
- Monday - Your Heart & Lungs
- Tuesday - Wildfires & Smoke
- Wednesday - Air Quality Index & Sensors
- Thursday - Air Quality in Your Community
- Friday - Air Quality Around the World
The Air
Quality Index and Sensors
Teachers, students, and citizen scientists from around the world
are charging ahead to learn more about air quality from low-cost, portable air
sensors. People are interested in:
- Comparing
the Air Quality Index (AQI) posted on AirNow.gov and information from
sensors
- Understanding
the accuracy of sensor data at the neighborhood level and
- Engaging
students in environmental science activities using air quality sensors.
AQI and Sensors
Both sensors and AirNow give you information about air quality.
EPA recommends that you use AirNow for information on air quality and health.
Here’s why:
AirNow reports the current AQI for ozone and particle pollution,
two common air pollutants. The AQI is based on EPA’s National Ambient Air
Quality Standards and the underlying scientific information about exposure to
those pollutants and health. In addition, the monitors that report to AirNow
are built and operated according to rigorous air monitoring regulations, and
they provide high-quality data. Most low-cost sensors currently do not meet
these same data quality standards.
What your sensor can do is give you helpful information about
short-term (such as 1-minute) air quality levels right at your location that
you can use to adjust your outdoor activities. For example, do you regularly
see elevated particle pollution readings on your walk to work? Move a street
over and see if they improve. If they do, you may want to change your route.
Are you seeing elevated ozone readings that are lasting for a while in the
afternoon? You might want to switch your afternoon run to the morning, when
ozone levels typically are lower, or run on a treadmill at the gym.
Using Sensors: Exploring Local Air Quality
The air sensor technology market is expanding as more companies
make lower-cost portable monitors available to the public. People are using air
quality sensors to get more information about local air quality.
A growing number of air sensors for monitoring air quality are
being made commercially available, encouraging more widespread use by individuals,
citizen groups, researchers, regulatory officials, and in networks implemented
by the private sector. Even though these devices are not as accurate or precise
as the national ambient air monitoring network, some can provide useful
information about very local air quality.
A wide variety of air sensor technologies currently exist in the
market that offer streaming and real-time data capabilities. They vary in size,
design, purpose (indoor or outdoor use), type of pollutants measured, power,
and communications capabilities. Many cities in the United States currently
have air sensor networks operating, with data collected privately or for
sharing with the public. In addition, many citizens are procuring sensors for
their private use to better understand their exposure to air pollution.
The reliability of these technologies, particularly over long
periods of time, is currently not well known. As the technology is in a state
of rapid innovation, new versions of air sensors are coming onto the market frequently.
To understand whether these technologies produce reliable air pollution data,
it is important to compare their performance against well-proven measurement
methods. EPA is one of the recognized leaders in evaluating and testing these
technologies, sharing information about their performance, as well as applying
them in field studies with citizen scientists, states, tribes, communities and
industry.
EPA scientists created a toolbox for air sensors to provide
interested members of the public, also known as citizen scientists, with
resources to effectively collect, analyze, interpret, and communicate air
quality data. EPA’s Air Sensor
Toolbox for Citizen Scientists provides information and guidance on
new low-cost compact technologies for measuring air quality.
Engaging Students: Guide for Building a Particle
Pollution Sensor
EPA also participates in educational outreach to schools,
museums, and other locations to teach students about air quality to understand
and protect the air we breathe. EPA developed a guide for building a particle
pollution air sensor to teach older children (grades 5-12) about air quality
and air science. The guide provides all the information needed to build an air
quality sensor, and opportunities for students to do hands on wiring and
coding.
The guide includes the following information:
- Instructions
for buying the parts and building your own particle sensor
- A
10-minute activity that includes information on air pollution and
explanation of how the PM air sensor works
- Discussion
questions to ask students after the lesson
- Classroom
handout
- Build Your
Own Particle Sensor
Assembled sensor kits
with different components.
Students working with
air quality sensors
