Monitoring air quality during environmental emergencies such as wildfires

[Angela1]

While MT14 is primarily used for general air quality monitoring, did you know that it can also help support healthy outcomes for people during environmental emergencies?

For example, earlier this month, New York City became some of the worst in the world as wildfire smoke from Canada blew in. Particulate matter, which is a tiny pollutant that can travel deep into lung tissue and enter the bloodstream when inhaled, was measured at more than 10 times the World Health Organization's annual air quality guideline value. This has potentially dangerous consequences for all people, but especially those who are particularly vulnerable to wildfire smoke: Children, senior citizens, people who are pregnant, or people with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases. 

To help monitor air quality and understand exactly when action is needed, organizations can install indoor air quality monitors that measure particulate matter and have real-time alerting. Using a sensor such as the Meraki MT14 indoor air quality sensor and setting an alert with PM2.5 thresholds such as 15 µg/m3 (the WHO recommends a level of no more than 15 µg/m3 over a 24 hour period) can help people understand when and where they need to take further action to protect themselves from smoke.

WHO guidelines on PM2.5 thresholds:

Source: World Health Organization

If you receive an alert during a wildfire, the actions you can take include: 

1. Stay inside and keep doors, windows, and fireplaces shut so that smoke stays out

2. Run a portable air purifier or HVAC system using high quality filters to keep the air clean

3. Wear a NIOSH-certified N95 mask that fits properly with no gaps between the mask and the face

Source: CA.gov

4. Avoid activities that increase indoor pollution, such as burning candles, using gas stoves and vacuuming

We hope that you stay safe. If you're in need of an MT14 for your organization, please contact your sales rep for a discussion on next steps.

[Madhan_kumar_G]

Hi,

This is wonderful

[PhilipDAth]

What a scary thought, but good to have a plan!

[BlakeRichardson]

Thanks for sharing, scary times for a lot of people there I would imagine. FYI to anyone into fashion Kanye West's new line of accessories probably isn't rated for filtering out particles. 

[MerryAki]

I like the idea but is it really doing precise measurements in indoor areas? I mean, the main PM2.5 in an office is produced in there, like the toner cartridges etc. 

So in case it's mounted outdoor I would trust those numbers. 

I it somehow precise? I mean when thinking about a crisis it should be a precise warning.

[Angela1]

Hey there, that's a great question. A bit more about the PM2.5 measurement on MT14: It samples PM2.5 once every 5 minutes, and the frequency of sampling can be increased to once every 1 second if the MT14 is toggled into high sampling mode (this requires persistent power). The accuracy range is +/- 10 ug/m^3 for 0 to 100 ug/m^3 PM2.5 detected.

With 1 second sampling frequency and this accuracy range, the MT14 is monitoring PM2.5 levels almost continuously, and offers a sufficient level of precision about the state of the room to indicate if someone may need to take action in order to breathe air that is more safe. 

There may be other sources of PM2.5 in an indoor space, but the level of PM2.5 that could cause negative health effects is a standard threshold which does not depend on the baseline level of PM2.5 in a room. 

[PhilipDAth]

One other special note about the high sampling mode:

[MerryAki]

Thanks, I already heard about the direct power supply, or at least saw it in the docs for other Sensors like the MT10 as well 🙂

(There is a MQTT integration for USB power etc.)

[cmr]

Doesn't it need persistent power to monitor PM2.5 at all?

 

[PhilipDAth]

You are correct.  Without USB-C power, you can not get PM2.5 measurements at all.