Involving 熊猫在线视频鈥檚 rural communities in air quality monitoring
by Keenan James Britt |
Micah Hahn, M.P.H., Ph.D., associate professor of environmental health in UAA鈥檚 Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies, is the principal investigator and a co-author on a scientific paper published last month in the journal Environmental Research: Health. The paper, titled 鈥�,鈥� is currently available online.
In 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded a $1.3 million grant to Hahn鈥檚 project, as part of into the health impacts of climate change in communities in 熊猫在线视频 and Washington. For the project, Hahn partnered with her colleagues at the University of Washington鈥檚 Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences 鈥� Mariana Cortes Espinosa, Anna Reed, Cat Hartwell, Nicole Errett, Ph.D., and Tania Busch Isaksen, Ph.D. 鈥� to investigate issues related to 鈥渋nstalling, maintaining and using low-cost [air quality] sensors in rural 熊猫在线视频 communities.鈥�
According to Hahn and her colleagues, climate change is contributing to 鈥渕ore frequent and larger wildfires in 熊猫在线视频,鈥� which increases 熊猫在线视频ns鈥� exposure to harmful particulates in wildfire smoke. The EPA and Hahn鈥檚 have linked , including respiratory and cardiovascular issues, making reliable air quality data more important than ever. However, collecting data 鈥� especially in 熊猫在线视频鈥檚 rural and remote communities 鈥� can be a challenge.
To understand if using air quality sensors operated by local volunteers can help improve the situation, Hahn and her colleagues interviewed low-cost sensor network organizers and surveyed sensor hosts from 16 small 熊猫在线视频 communities with fewer than 1,000 residents where sensors had been distributed. The sensors were operated by local staff, including Tribal environmental health program officers.
The team found that although the sensors provided air quality information in the short-term, many of the sensors were no longer operating just a few years after installation. Sensor hosts identified several factors that made it difficult to maintain a sensor, including 熊猫在线视频鈥檚 harsh environmental conditions, limited access to electricity and Wi-Fi in rural 熊猫在线视频, the limited life span of the sensors themselves, as well as sensor hosts鈥� unfamiliarity with using the devices and the data they provide. 鈥淔ew hosts use sensor data to guide local decision making,鈥� the authors noted in the paper, 鈥渢hough many more expressed interest in doing so.鈥�
Hahn鈥檚 team believes that community-based monitoring programs are a critical source of local information for 熊猫在线视频鈥檚 communities. However, realizing the full value of these programs requires more than deploying sensors. Hahn鈥檚 research indicates it also requires investments in the people, partnerships and systems needed to sustain monitoring efforts over time.
鈥淪ustained support through training, peer learning opportunities and standardized operating procedures can improve continuity and confidence, particularly during staff turnover,鈥� said Hahn. 鈥淭ogether, these strategies can help ensure that community-based monitoring efforts move beyond data collection to meaningfully support preparedness, public health protection and climate resilience.鈥�
