Can portable Arduino sensors indicate levels of exposure to particulate matter (PM1-PM10) and potential exposure to PAHs? Maria Tasso de Almeida Ribeiro Reis Cocco University College, London Air pollution is a worldwide problem responsible for millions of human deaths every year. Amongst the most harmful pollutants is particulate matter containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons among other chemicals. Previous studies on airborne particulates have used a variety of different collectors and samplers to monitor particulate matter however, these are expensive and too large for personal monitoring. In this study, a low- cost sensor ( Sensirion SPS30 sensor) was used to indicate levels of personal exposure to particulate matter and this data was used to estimate potential exposure to toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. An Arduino device was built, composed of three identical Sensirion SPS30 sensors to measure particulate matter levels in urban environments in Lisbon (sheltered and open school playgrounds) and in London (sheltered stairwell). The sensors data were compared against data from an air monitoring station in London and presented a bias between -3% and -67% and between -38% and -92% for PM2.5 and PM10 levels respectively, reflecting differences in particulate loading nearer to the ground and elevated position of the monitoring station. PM2.5 and PM10 levels ranged between 0.86 and 29.91 µg/m 3 and between 0.68 and 29.91 µg/m 3 in Lisbon. In London, PM2.5 levels ranged between 0.27 and 966.51 µg/m 3 and PM10 levels ranged between 0.29 and 966.51 µg/m 3 . This suggests the SPS30 sensor does not have a great selectivity to different particulate matter sizes. Even though PM2.5 levels are slightly lower than the levels reported by published literature, this could be explained by the COVID pandemic. Exposure to toxic PAHs associated with PM was estimated from the particulate and historical published data and indicated these were over the regulatory limits set by the European Union and the World Health Organization. To identify polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons potentially from the urban atmospheres, hard surface samples were extracted and analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS), however, no PAHs from the standard mixture were detected in the samples. This was a small part of the study where sampling and method development was limited. The Sensirion SPS30 sensor can indicate levels of exposure to particulate matter which have an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 µm, however, it would be inadequate to postulate exposure to PAHs using these sensors. These results are of great significance as they appear to be realistic compared to air monitoring stations, whilst they also present a more affordable alternative of measuring exposure to PM2.5 that could be used to assess personal exposure to this class of pollutants. References 1. European Environment Agency (EEA), Air quality in Europe - 2020 report , 2020. 2. M. Oliveira, K. Slezakova, C. Delerue-Matos, M. C. Pereira and S. Morais, Environ. Int. , 2019, 124 , 180–204. 3. Particulate matter, https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/air-quality/resources/glossary/particulate-matter, (accessed 29 July 2021). 4. Ravindra, A. K. Mittal and R. Van Grieken, Rev. Environ. Health , 2001, 16 , 169–189. 5. 70 6. *additional references not listed*
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