Brooke County Public Library is now hosting an Air Sensor!

The Brooke County Public Library is now the only county location that is helping the DEP collect air pollution data. It is located at the main library location in Wellsburg.

The West Virginia Division of Air Quality (WV DAQ) is the air pollution regulatory agency for West Virginia. WV DAQ currently operates and maintains regulatory particulate matter monitors set up across West Virginia. The operation and siting of these monitors follow strict US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines.

So what is installed at our location?

Recent advancements in technology have allowed for “low-cost” air sensors to be manufactured to measure air pollution in real-time. The low-cost sensors are one-tenth to one-hundredth the cost of the more sophisticated instruments required for regulatory monitoring that WVDAQ utilizes across West Virginia. While these low-cost sensors do not meet the rigorous standards required for regulatory monitors, they can help get a picture of air quality, especially when increased levels of particulate matter are in an area.

The air quality monitoring device installed at our main library location is a PurpleAir Classic Plus sensor.

You might ask yourself, what is this measuring/monitoring?

It is measuring different sizes of particulate matter pollution (also called particle pollution), which is a term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in the air. The sensor at our location measures the particles most harmful to human health, which is PM2.5. These are fine inhalable particles that are 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller. Directly emitted particles include burning of fuel by vehicles, windblown dust, smoke from fires, construction sites, and industrial processes.

Where can I find the data?

Data from the sensor is available at https://fire.airnow.gov/. Zoom into the location of the area on the map, and the sensor will be marked by a small circle. Other low-cost sensors on the map are marked by small circles, and regulatory monitors operated by WVDAQ are marked by large circles.

By entering the ZIP code 26070, you are able to find it a bit quicker/easier.

Clicking on the circle of your area’s location on the map will display current air quality, health actions to take, and recent history.

How do you interpret the data?

Values and colors displayed on the map are based on the EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI), which is a color-coded scale that tells you how clean or polluted the air is and what associated health effects might be a concern. The AQI is divided into six categories. Each category corresponds to a different level of health concern. Each category also has a specific color and number range. The color makes it easy for people to quickly determine whether air quality is reaching unhealthy levels in the community. The AQI is displayed in the table below.