AirQAST Portable Automated Air Quality Monitoring

Assessment of wild land fire smoke exposure is a genuine concern to fire managers, public health officials, air quality regulators, and the public. Exposure to vegetation fire smoke products poses acute and chronic health hazards to first line responders, firefighters, and to communities located downwind of their source. Current instrumentation capable of providing reliable air quality data is expensive and impractical for direct field operation. In this project, Creare proposes to develop a wearable, low-weight, high accuracy, air-quality measurement tool. Our device integrates multiple sensors to monitor all major fire pollutants. Sampled data is instantly broadcast to mobile devices, empowering fire managers with the capability to monitor real-time exposure levels for individual firefighters. During Phase I, we will fabricate a prototype that includes modular electronics and user-friendly software; and we will demonstrate its capability in a prescribed burn carried out by our collaborators. During Phase 11, we will develop a wearable prototype and acquire firefighter data in prescribed burns at key locations throughout the US.