Is there an ideal distance to place Purple Air monitors from a mine construction site?
Public Lab is an open community which collaboratively develops accessible, open source, Do-It-Yourself technologies for investigating local environmental health and justice issues.
Purple Air's are designed to measure the passive concentrations of particulate matter in the location they're deployed using a laser, so when a particle passes under and blocks the laser, it counts it in the reading. However, if the wind is blowing particles away from the Purple Air, it won't "see" the particles since they're not physically there.
For instance, if the monitor is deployed east of a smokestack, and the wind is blowing east, it should see that particulate matter. If the wind is blowing west, away from the monitor, it won't register as much.
Particulate Matter can be highly localized, so placement would want to take into consideration what you're trying to measure. If it's general emissions from mining operations, I would place the monitors as close as possible to the sites keeping in mind prevailing wind direction in the area.
Purple Air's are designed to measure the passive concentrations of particulate matter in the location they're deployed using a laser, so when a particle passes under and blocks the laser, it counts it in the reading. However, if the wind is blowing particles away from the Purple Air, it won't "see" the particles since they're not physically there.
For instance, if the monitor is deployed east of a smokestack, and the wind is blowing east, it should see that particulate matter. If the wind is blowing west, away from the monitor, it won't register as much.
Particulate Matter can be highly localized, so placement would want to take into consideration what you're trying to measure. If it's general emissions from mining operations, I would place the monitors as close as possible to the sites keeping in mind prevailing wind direction in the area.
Reply to this comment...
Log in to comment