The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has announced its Hillsboro laboratory staff has developed a lower-cost air quality monitor that will allow the agency to provide timely particulate pollution information at more locations throughout the state. Already, eight of the devices, called the SensOR, have been placed at new Air Quality Index sites in Bend, Brookings, Chiloquin, Coos Bay, Florence, Forest Grove, northeast Portland and Redmond.
In 2017, the Oregon Legislature funded an additional 30 monitoring sites for DEQ’s AQI, an interactive website that allows the public to check local conditions. Over the last year, DEQ lab staff has developed a light sensor to measure particulate matter measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter or approximately one-twenty-fifth the size of a human hair. The SensOR includes a heated inlet to reduce interference from humidity; regulated air sample flow; automated quality control checks; data acquisition and cellular communication.
The scientists spent several months calibrating the SensORs to their more expensive reference instruments to ensure the AQI is accurate and reliable.
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“This is really a testament to the resourcefulness and expertise of our lab team. It is due to their hard work and creativity that we are able to provide the public with more accurate data on the quality of the air in their region,” said Ali Mirzakhalili, air quality administrator for DEQ, in a statement. “One new SensOR costs approximately $5,000 to $10,000 less than monitors we have purchased in the past. That savings means we can deploy more devices to more areas.”
DEQ expects to install more devices over the next few months. The goal is to have 30 total SensORs located statewide within the next year.