Citizen science: Air quality monitoring in Barry
About this dashboard
The Project
This project is a collaboration between researchers at WISERD, Cardiff University and citizen scientists based in Barry, South Wales. Part of the project involved deploying Smart Citizen air quality monitoring kits throughout the town to support the group in gathering data about their local environment.
The data dashboards provide access to the real time data collected by these Smart Citizen kits. Data are presented alongside thresholds set by United Kingdom and European Commission legislation, as well as the World Health Organisation.
This project is funded as part of WISERD’s ESRC funded Civil Society Research Centre – Civic Stratification and Civil Repair. You can find out more about the research by visiting the project’s webpage.
Smart Citizen kit metrics
Each Smart Citizen kit is producing readings for the following metrics every 60 seconds.
Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5
Measured in micrograms/m3 (µg/m3). PM stands for particulate matter: the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. PM2.5 monitors particles that are less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter.
Particulate Matter (PM) 1
Measured in micrograms/m3 (µg/m3). PM stands for particulate matter: the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. PM1 monitors particles that are less than 1 micrometres in diameter.
Particulate Matter (PM) 10
Measured in micrograms/m3 (µg/m3). PM stands for particulate matter: the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. PM10 monitors particles that are less than 10 micrometres in diameter.
Equivalent CO2 (eCO2)
Measured in parts per million (ppm). Equivalent CO2 is the concentration of CO2 that would cause the same level of radiative forcing as a given type and concentration of greenhouse gas. Examples of such greenhouse gases are methane, perfluorocarbons, and nitrous oxide. CO2 is primarily a by-product of human metabolism and is constantly being emitted into the indoor environment by building occupants. CO2 may come from combustion sources as well. Associations of higher indoor carbon dioxide concentrations with impaired work performance and increased health symptoms have been attributed to correlation of indoor CO2 with concentrations of other indoor air pollutants that are also influenced by rates of outdoor-air ventilation.
Total volatile organic compounds (TVOC)
Measured in parts per billion (ppb). Total volatile organic compounds is a grouping of a wide range of organic chemical compounds to simplify reporting when these are present in ambient air or emissions. Many substances, such as natural gas, could be classified as volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Light
Measured in Lux. Lux is a measure of how much light is spread over a given area. A full moon clear night is around 1 lux, inside an office building you usually have 400 lux and a bright day can be more than 20000 lux.
Noise
Measured in A-weighted decibels (dBA). Decibel’s (dB) measure sound pressure difference between the average local pressure and the pressure in the sound wave. A quiet library is below 40dB, your house is around 50dB and a diesel truck in your street 90dB. A-weighted decibels, abbreviated dBA, are an expression of the relative loudness of sounds in air as perceived by our ears.
Air temperature
Measured in degrees Celsius. Air temperature is a measure of how hot or cold the air is. It is the most commonly measured weather parameter. Air temperature is dependent on the amount and strength of the sunlight hitting the earth, and atmospheric conditions, such as cloud cover and humidity, which trap heat.
Relative humidity
Measured in percentage. Relative humidity is a measure of the amount of moisture in the air relative to the total amount of moisture the air can hold. For instance, if the relative humidity was 50%, then the air is only half saturated with moisture.
Barometric pressure
Measured in (kPa). Barometric pressure is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point.
Explanation of the threshold measures
The threshold values displayed on the charts show the limits on the concentration of pollutants in the air as set by the UK Government, the European Commission (EC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
These limits are displayed alongside the values recorded by the Citizen Science kits allowing comparisons to be made. If air quality is shown to have risen higher than these values there may have been a breach of the limits, and further investigation is warranted.
Threshold values are available for three metrics: PM10, PM2.5 and eCO2. An explanation of how these values are calculated is available below.
Particulate Matter (PM) 10
Threshold: UK (number of times the 24 hour mean exceeds 50 μg/m3)
The UK Government states that a limit of 50 μg/m3 is not to be exceeded more than 35 times a year (DEFRA, 2005). The 50 μg/m3 value represents the mean concentration and is calculated over a 24 hour period.
To calculate a metric comparable to this threshold, we count the number of times the concentration of PM10 has risen above a 24 hour mean of 50 μg/m3 over the year up to the selected date.
Threshold: UK (annual mean, measured in μg/m3)
The UK Government states that the annual mean limit of the concentration of PM10 is 40 μg/m3 (DEFRA, 2005).
To calculate a metric comparable to this threshold, we calculate the annual mean concentration of particulate matter over the year up to the selected date.
Threshold: EC (number of times the 24 hour mean exceeds 50 μg/m3)
The EC state that a limit of 50 μg/m3 is not to be exceeded more than 35 times a year. The 50 μg/m3 value represents the mean concentration and is calculated over a 24 hour period (DEFRA, 2005).
To calculate a metric comparable to this threshold, we count number of times that the concentration of PM10 has risen above a 24 hour mean of 50 μg/m3 over over the year up to the selected date.
Threshold: EC (annual mean, measured in μg/m3)
The EC state that the annual mean limit of the concentration of PM10 is 40 μg/m3 (DEFRA, 2005).
To calculate a metric comparable to this threshold, we calculate the annual mean concentration of particulate matter over the year up to the selected date.
Threshold: WHO (24 hour mean, measured in μg/m3)
TThe World Health Organisation states that a mean concentration of 45 μg/m3 should not be exceeded over a 24 hour period (World Health Organisation, 2021).
To calculate a metric comparable to this threshold, we calculate the mean concentration of particulate matter over the 24 hour period up to the selected date.
Threshold: WHO (24 hour mean, measured in μg/m3)
The World Health Organisation states that a mean concentration of 45 μg/m3 should not be exceeded over a 24 hour period (World Health Organisation, 2021).
To calculate a metric comparable to this threshold, we calculate the mean concentration of particulate matter over the 24 hour period up to the selected date.
Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5
Threshold: UK (annual mean, measured in μg/m3)
The UK Government state that the annual mean limit of the concentration of PM2.5 is 20 μg/m3 (DEFRA, 2005).
To calculate a metric comparable to this threshold, we calculate the annual mean concentration of particulate matter over the year up to the selected date.
Threshold: EC Stage 1 (annual mean, measured in μg/m3)
The EC state that the Stage 1 annual mean limit of the concentration of PM2.5 is 25 μg/m3 (DEFRA, 2005).
To calculate a metric comparable to this threshold, we calculate the annual mean concentration of particulate matter over the year up to the selected date
Threshold: EC Stage 2 (annual mean, measured in μg/m3)
The EC state that the Stage 2 annual mean limit of the concentration of PM2.5 is 20 μg/m3 (DEFRA, 2005).
To calculate a metric comparable to this threshold, we calculate the annual mean concentration of particulate matter over the year up to the selected date.
Threshold: WHO (annual mean, measured in μg/m3)
The World Health Organisation state that the annual mean limit of the concentration of PM2.5 is 5 μg/m3 (World Health Organisation, 2021).
To calculate a metric comparable to this threshold, we calculate the annual mean concentration of particulate matter over the year up to the selected date.
CO2
Threshold: UK (annual mean, measured in μg/m3)
The UK Government state that the short-term (15 minute) mean limit of the concentration of CO2 is 15,000 ppm (Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 2020). This value refers to the indoor limit in concentration of CO2.
To calculate a metric comparable to this threshold, we calculate mean concentration of CO2 over the 15 minute between 23:45 on the previous day and midnight on the selected day.
Threshold: UK (8 hour working day limit, measured in μg/m3)
The UK Government state that the full working day (8 hour) mean indoor limit of the concentration of CO2 is 5,000 ppm (Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 2020). This value refers to the indoor limit in concentration of CO2.
To calculate a metric comparable to this threshold, we calculate mean concentration of CO2 over the last full 8 hour working day period up to the selected date. The 8 hour working day is defined the period between 9am and 5pm. Results are collected over the last full 8 hour working day period, meaning that if the selected time is before 5pm the results displayed will be for the previous day.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have selected a kit, but no data is being displayed on the charts. Why?
If the Smart Citizen monitoring kits was offline during the time period you have selected you will not see any data. Please select a different time period or a different kit and try again.
Why is the threshold chart is not displaying any data?
The threshold charts are based on a sample of data points over the selected time period. If the number of data points in the sample is too small to calculate the metric the chart will not display any data. Please select a different kit or a different starting date and try again.
What is WISERD?
The Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD) is a national, interdisciplinary, social science research institute. WISERD have been designated by the Welsh Government as a national research centre. Using innovative approaches, our research spans the fields of economics, sociology, geography and political science. More information is available on the WISERD website.