Low-cost monitoring of atmospheric PM-development and testing

Ambient particulate matter (PM) pollution is a significant problem in many urban and rural regions and has severe human health implications. Real-time, spatially dense monitoring using a network of low-cost sensors (LCS) was previously proposed as a way to alleviate the problem of PM. In this study, the performance of an LCS (Plantower PMS7003), a candidate for use in such a network, was investigated. The sensor was calibrated in a controlled climate chamber against a standard reference aerosol monitor. Reproducibility and calibration were evaluated in laboratory tests. Long-term, in-field performance was studied via deploying an LCS assembly at an environmental monitoring station. Results indicated excellent unit-to-unit consistency; however, each sensor needed to be calibrated individually as their characteristics varied slightly. Based on the results of a 15-month field test, quantitative and indicative LCS performance appeared promising: overall indicative accuracy was approximately 73-75% with comparable precision and recall. It is advised that the LCS are cleaned after 6-8 months of operation. Overall, the LCS appeared suitable for low-cost monitoring.