Developing a Low-Cost Passive Method for Long-Term Average Levels of Light-Absorbing Carbon Air Pollution in Polluted Indoor Environments

Abstract

We propose a low-cost passive method for monitoring long-term average levels of light-absorbing carbon air pollution in polluted indoor environments. Building on prior work, the method here estimates the change in reflectance of a passively exposed surface through analysis of digital images. To determine reproducibility and limits of detection, we tested low-cost passive samplers with exposure to kerosene smoke in the laboratory and to environmental pollution in 20 indoor locations. Preliminary results suggest robust reproducibility (r = 0.99) and limits of detection appropriate for longer-term (~1–3 months) monitoring in households that use solid fuels. The results here suggest high precision; further testing involving “gold standard” measurements is needed to investigate accuracy.

Keywords

• household air pollution
• indoor air quality
• low-cost measurements
• time-integrated average
• exposure assessment
• community monitoring