AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
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Enabling Continuous Air Quality Measurements in Cap Haitien, Haiti – from Household Combustion to Open Burning to Political Protests
AUDREY DANG, Eben Cross, Jay R. Turner, Brent Williams, Washington University in St. Louis
Abstract Number: 553 Working Group: Air Quality Sensors: Low-cost != Low Complexity
Abstract The country of Haiti has no government air quality monitoring program, and published data are limited to less than 24 hours of continuous particulate matter measurements [1]. Thus, the potential health impacts of air quality in Haiti are poorly characterized, though prevalent solid fuel use for food cooking and open trash burning for waste disposal raise concern. In particular, over 85% of urban households in Haiti use wood or wood-derived charcoal for cooking [2]. To address this measurement gap, two ARISense nodes (Aerodyne Research) have been installed at separate locations in Cap Haitien, Haiti since the summer of 2018. The solar-powered, mid-cost nodes integrate low-cost sensors to measure particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and meteorological variables. We will describe these measurements and explore how political protests in Cap Haitien during the study period have affected air quality.
[1] Davis, M.E. and Rappaport, A. (2014). Sci. Total Environ., 496:22–25. [2] Ministry of Public Health and Population, Haitian Childhood Institute, and ICF International (2018). 2016-2017 Haiti Mortality, Morbidity, and Service Utilization Survey.