Using Gas-Phase Air Quality Sensors to Disentangle Potential Sources in a Los Angeles Neighborhood

In the late summer of 2016, our team deployed a network of low-cost air quality sensing systems in partnership with community-based organizations in a neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California. Residents of this community were concerned about possible emissions from local oil and gas activity, however in addition to these potential emissions, the neighborhood is also subject to a complex mixture of pollutants from other nearby sources including major highways. For this deployment, metal-oxide VOC sensors were quantified to provide methane (CH₄) and total non-methane hydrocarbon (TNMHCs) concentration estimates. This data along with other sensor signals, meteorological data, and community member observations was used to examine the composition and possible origins of observed emissions. The sensor network displayed expected environmental trends and highlighted short-term elevations in CH₄ and/or TNMHCs, which we were then able to investigate more closely. The results indicated that sources of both combusted and volatilized hydrocarbons were likely affecting air quality throughout the community, including near the site of the local oil and gas activity. This deployment may serve as a model for how multi-sensor systems deployed in networks can be leveraged to better understand sources in complex areas, potentially supporting future community-based air quality research.