Vic trials street lamps for air quality monitoring

Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) and CitiPower are conducting a joint trial involving installing air quality monitoring sensors on street lamps.

Sensors have been installed on the Queen Street Bridge to measure concentrations of fine particles known as PM2.5, a pollutant found in vehicle exhaust emissions, smoke and fine dust.

Data is transmitted via secure radiocommunications to mitigate the risk of telecommunications network outages that can disrupt data flow in traditional monitoring networks.

The sensors are installed in custom-built housing. They cost around $200 each and are only slightly larger than a matchbox. Depending on the success of the trial, the EPA could potentially use the technology to monitor air quality throughout the state, particularly in population concentrations.

“If we find that these sensors can provide useful, reliable data at a low operational cost, we’ll look at incorporating them into our existing air monitoring network,” EPA Group Manager of Applied Sciences Dr Anthony Boxshall said.

The agency operates permanent air monitoring stations across the state and publishes live details of its monitoring activities.

CitiPower General Manager of Electricity Networks Steven Neave said the partners are also exploring opportunities to deploy air quality sensors as smoke detectors in high fire risk areas.

Image courtesy of Long Zheng under CC