IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2020 - 31

- vidence-based assessment of
e
where we are. This can be achieved by
equipping ourselves with up-to-date
information on pollution sources,
concentrations, and impacts -
and for this, air quality monitoring
technologies are essential. But to
what extent are such technologies
the "solution to pollution?" This
paper explores some of the current
air pollution monitoring technologies, as well as reveals the, often
overlooked (yet crucial), human,
educational, and financial resources
that are essential for successful air
pollution monitoring. We will consider the place that personal sensors
hold within the challenge of improving air quality, and in doing so, will
expose some risks and unintended
consequences of their use. Finally,
we will argue that, while air pollution monitoring technologies are
fundamental to assessing by how
much air quality may change over
time, the real solution to pollution is
anthropogenic action: changing our
habits and reforming policy, even if
it makes life slightly less convenient.

mate crisis. Such actions are seen
all around the globe - from combustion of fossil fuels for energy
generation or vehicle use, to channeling millions of tons of pesticide
onto crops - these actions are detrimental to human health and to
the planet. Collectively, enormous
quantities of CO2 alongside other
toxic pollutants - such as PM10,
PM 2.5, NO2, SO2, volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), ammonia, and
many more - are emitted each
year, causing direct negative impact
to our shared environment and negatively altering ecosystems. Additionally, in producing pollutants, we
contribute to stratospheric ozone
depletion, as well as conversely, its
generation at ground level, acid rain,
and eutrophication. Furthermore,
pollutants lead to increased concentrations of toxicants in both soil
and water, thus resulting in harm to
humans, animals, and plants alike.
Indeed, poor air quality has been
shown to reduce life expectancy,
increase the likelihood of suffering
from a chronic disease - such as
a host of respiratory diseases, e.g.,
COPD (for example chronic bronchitis and emphysema), asthma, lung
cancer, pneumonia [2] - as well as
increase the severity of their associated symptoms. Links have also
been made between pollutant exposures with cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, cancer [3], and dementia
[4], [5]. Air pollution has been shown
to cause systemic inflammation,
oxidative stress, and degrade immunity even within healthy populations
and there is a reported increase
in evidence of adverse early life
impacts on birth outcomes [3], lung
function [6], and cognitive development [3]. In 2016, poor air quality
(both ambient and indoor) contributed to approximately 7 million premature deaths worldwide, making it
the fifth highest mortality risk factor
in the world.

Sources and Impacts of Poor
Air Quality
As with its sources, the impacts of
air pollution are multifactorial in
nature. There are both health
and environmental impacts, ranging from premature death and
increased healthcare utilization, to
absenteeism from work and negative impacts on crop yields and
biodiversity.
When combined, these have a
significant secondary impact on
national and international economics. Such economic impacts are not
addressed here, but should not be
overlooked when considering the
full negative implications of poor
air quality. Anthropogenic activities
leading to pollution have a direct
impact on the environment and
significantly contribute to the cliSEPTEMBER 2020

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IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

It is estimated that 94% of these
deaths occurred in low to middleincome countries (LMICs), reflecting
the disturbing level of environmental
injustice at play. LMICs experience
a higher burden of poor air quality compared to developed nations,
with the greatest toll in the Western
Pacific and Southeast Asia regions
[7]. The reliance on solid fuels (wood
and coal, for example) for relatively
inefficient cooking and heating facilities, involves incomplete combustion, thereby generating indoor air
pollutants. Poor air quality is also
strongly associated with trade: in
2007 it was found that large fractions of the total air pollution emission in China - the world's largest
emitter of anthropogenic air pollutants - were associated with goods
and services consumed in other
countries. International exports in
China have snowballed since the
turn of the century, primarily due
to Western demands to cut costs,
with China offering cheaper manufacture, supported by lower pay and
fewer environmental laws. Recently,
China has made great strides in
improving its air quality through
regulation, but the conditions that
drove its significant pollution problem have now shifted to other tiger
economies within Asia. In more
developed nations, poor ambient air
quality is predominantly associated
with vehicle use, industrial activity,
heat and power generation, as well
as poor urban planning which results
in sprawl and over-dependence on
private vehicle transport [8].

Air Quality Monitoring
Current monitoring technologies
range from small, personal portable
sensors, to geostationary monitors,
to state-of-the-art deep learning
computers combined with high resolution satellite imagery. While such
technology can be used in isolation,
perhaps the most effective method

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IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2020

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