Northwest Clean Air Agency Expands Air Monitoring Network with Low-Cost Sensors

The Northwest Clean Air Agency is broadening its air quality monitoring efforts by deploying low-cost sensors and collaborating with local organizations. Initially, the agency relied on seven high-tech monitors for regulatory purposes. However, to address community requests for more localized data, the agency began installing Purple Air monitors—a more affordable option—at public schools in Whatcom County in summer 2023.

While the monitors cost around $PurpleAirmonitorsarepricedatapproximately$290USD, offering a cost-effective way to expand coverage. Although less accurate and unable to identify specific pollutants, these devices provide valuable data, especially when adjusted using a correction factor to account for overestimations in air quality readings.

The agency now operates about 100 monitors, focusing on long-term locations like public schools and municipal buildings. Partnerships with local groups, including county health departments, aim to fill geographic gaps and provide communities with actionable air quality information. This data can help individuals, such as those with asthma, make informed decisions about outdoor activities during periods of poor air quality, such as wildfire smoke events.

The initiative underscores the agency’s goal to make air quality data more accessible to the public, even if the information is not used for regulatory purposes.