| Title: | AirPen: A Wearable Monitor for Characterizing Exposures to Particulate Matter and Volatile Organic Compounds |
| Author(s): | Tryner J; Quinn C; Molina Rueda E; Andales MJ; L'Orange C; Mehaffy J; Carter E; Volckens J; |
| Address: | "Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, 1374 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, 1372 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1520-5851 (Electronic) 0013-936X (Print) 0013-936X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "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 (PM(2.5)) 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 PM(2.5) 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" |
| Keywords: | Humans Particulate Matter/analysis *Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis *Air Pollutants/analysis *Air Pollution/analysis *Wearable Electronic Devices Environmental Monitoring/methods exposome industrial hygiene low-cost sensors occupational health persona; |
| Notes: | "MedlineTryner, Jessica Quinn, Casey Molina Rueda, Emilio Andales, Marie J L'Orange, Christian Mehaffy, John Carter, Ellison Volckens, John eng R01OH011660/ACL/ACL HHS/ R01 OH011660/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/ Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. 2023/07/14 Environ Sci Technol. 2023 Jul 25; 57(29):10604-10614. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c02238. Epub 2023 Jul 14" |
