Guidance for Evaluating the Performance and Use of AQ Sensors for Construction Dust (PM10) Monitoring

Construction activities such as earth excavation and backfilling, loading and unloading of materials, concrete placement and curing, drilling, welding, chiselling, demolition, and material transportation emit dust into the atmosphere. These sources contribute to particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5; ambient particles smaller than the 2.5-micron aerodynamic diameter [PM ≤ 2.5 μm]) and PM10 (PM ≤ 10 μm, which includes PM2.5). Low-cost sensors (LCSs) can be used to qualitatively assess the dust control measures at construction sites. In India, many manufacturers (or integrators) sell sensor nodes (or sensor boxes) for measuring PM. These manufacturers integrate different sensor models that operate on the principle of light scattering (including optical particle counting [OPC]) into their sensor nodes, along with sensors for measuring temperature and relative humidity.

This guidance document for the use of air quality sensors at construction sites has been developed based on the evaluation of low-cost sensors conducted at the India Sensor Evaluation and Training (Indi-SET) facility. A first-of-its-kind facility in India, Indi-SET is established at the Bengaluru campus of the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP). During the evaluation period, six particulate matter (PM) sensor models from five Indian manufacturers were evaluated for one year, covering all seasons and varying pollution loads.

Dr R Subramanian (Former Head, Air Quality Sector, CSTEP) co-authored this guidance document.