Woodall George M, Hoover Mark D, Williams Ronald, Benedict Kristen, Harper Martin, Soo Jhy-Charm, Jarabek Annie M, Stewart Michael J, Brown James S, Hulla Janis E, Caudill Motria, Clements Andrea L, Kaufman Amanda, Parker Alison J, Keating Martha, Balshaw David, Garrahan Kevin, Burton Laureen, Batka Sheila, Limaye Vijay S, Hakkinen Pertti J, Thompson Bob
Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA.
Atmosphere (Basel). 2017;8(10):182. doi: 10.3390/atmos8100182. Epub 2017 Sep 21.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies face a number of challenges in interpreting and reconciling short-duration (seconds to minutes) readings from mobile and handheld air sensors with the longer duration averages (hours to days) associated with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the criteria pollutants-particulate matter (PM), ozone, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides. Similar issues are equally relevant to the hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) where chemical-specific health effect reference values are the best indicators of exposure limits; values which are often based on a lifetime of continuous exposure. A multi-agency, staff-level Air Sensors Health Group (ASHG) was convened in 2013. ASHG represents a multi-institutional collaboration of Federal agencies devoted to discovery and discussion of sensor technologies, interpretation of sensor data, defining the state of sensor-related science across each institution, and provides consultation on how sensors might effectively be used to meet a wide range of research and decision support needs. ASHG focuses on several fronts: improving the understanding of what hand-held sensor technologies may be able to deliver; communicating what hand-held sensor readings can provide to a number of audiences; the challenges of how to integrate data generated by multiple entities using new and unproven technologies; and defining best practices in communicating health-related messages to various audiences. This review summarizes the challenges, successes, and promising tools of those initial ASHG efforts and Federal agency progress on crafting similar products for use with other NAAQS pollutants and the HAPs. NOTE: The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessary represent the opinions of their Federal Agencies or the US Government. Mention of product names does not constitute endorsement.
美国环境保护局（EPA）和其他联邦机构在解释和协调移动和手持式空气传感器的短时间（几秒到几分钟）读数与国家环境空气质量标准（NAAQS）中与标准污染物——颗粒物（PM）、臭氧、一氧化碳、铅、氮氧化物和硫氧化物相关的较长时间平均值（几小时到几天）时面临诸多挑战。类似问题对于有害空气污染物（HAPs）同样重要，在有害空气污染物方面，特定化学物质的健康影响参考值是接触限值的最佳指标；这些值通常基于终生持续接触情况。2013年召开了一个多机构、工作人员级别的空气传感器健康小组（ASHG）会议。ASHG代表了联邦机构的多机构合作，致力于发现和讨论传感器技术、解释传感器数据、界定每个机构中与传感器相关的科学状况，并就如何有效利用传感器满足广泛的研究和决策支持需求提供咨询。ASHG关注几个方面：增进对手持式传感器技术所能提供内容的理解；向众多受众传达手持式传感器读数能提供的信息；如何整合使用新技术和未经证实的技术由多个实体生成的数据所面临的挑战；以及界定向不同受众传达与健康相关信息的最佳做法。本综述总结了ASHG最初努力所面临的挑战、取得的成功以及有前景的工具，以及联邦机构在为与其他NAAQS污染物和HAPs一起使用而制作类似产品方面取得的进展。注意：所表达的观点仅为作者的观点，不一定代表其所在联邦机构或美国政府的观点。提及产品名称并不构成认可。
