AirPen: A Wearable Monitor for Characterizing Exposures to Particulate Matter and Volatile Organic Compounds

Details

• Personal Author:
  Andales MJ ; Carter E ; L'Orange C ; Mehaffy J ; Molina Rueda E ; Quinn C ; Tryner J ; Volckens J
• Description:
  Exposure to air pollution is a leading risk factor for disease and premature death, but technologies for assessing personal exposure to particulate and gaseous air pollutants, including the timing and location of such exposures, are limited. We developed a small, quiet, wearable monitor, called the AirPen, to quantify personal exposures to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The AirPen combines physical sample collection (PM onto a filter and VOCs onto a sorbent tube) with a suite of low-cost sensors (for PM, VOCs, temperature, pressure, humidity, light intensity, location, and motion). We validated the AirPen against conventional personal sampling equipment in the laboratory and then conducted a field study to measure at-work and away-from-work exposures to PM2.5 and VOCs among employees at an agricultural facility in Colorado, USA. The resultant sampling and sensor data indicated that personal exposures to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes were dominated by a specific workplace location. These results illustrate how the AirPen can be used to advance our understanding of personal exposure to air pollution as a function of time, location, source, and activity, even in the absence of detailed activity diary data. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Volatile Organic Compounds
• Keywords:
  Air Pollution Author Keywords: Exposome Exposure Assessment Industrial Hygiene Low-cost Sensors Occupational Health Particulates Personal Exposure Assessment Sampling Sensors VOCs Volatile Organic Compounds Wearable Technologies

  More +
• ISSN:
  0013-936X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  57
• Issue:
  29
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068089
• Citation:
  Environ Sci Technol 2023 Jul; 57(29):10604-10614
• Contact Point Address:
  John Volckens, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
• Email:
  john.volckens@colostate.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  Colorado State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20190901
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Science and Technology
• End Date:
  20230831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:72ad18e97cf9a6415f789a509605b8ee7879a455897701e6f69dfaea0f1aa56263bc1e5cc7bd39bab7753e181cd6ad643cdcb55ef0611c8c66bf10027608ad47
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230307/cdc_230307_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.11 MB ]