The Effect of Declaring State of Emergency in Response to COVID-19 on Air Quality in the City of Kitchener

为应对 COVID-19 宣布进入紧急状态对基奇纳市空气质量的影响

• 批准号: 550220-2020
• 负责人: AlAbadleh, HindA
• 金额: $ 3.64万
• 依托单位: Wilfrid Laurier University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=701554
• 关键词: Effect; Declaring; State; Emergency; Response

Similar to other countries around the world, Ontario declared a State of Emergency on March 17, 2020 in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. Pollutant maps from NASA, the European Space Agency, and air quality monitoring stations showed drastic reduction in NO2 levels over China, Italy, Paris, and San Francisco. Air pollution is recognized as a public health issue and an invisible killer by the World Health Organization. Air quality indices for large geographic regions are often based on a single monitoring location using a US EPA reference, or equivalent, methods. However, air quality can vary significantly over short spatial and temporal scales due to factors such as topography, meteorology, and source distribution. Hemmera Envirochem Inc., the City of Kitchener, and Dr. Hind Al-Abadleh, of Wilfrid Laurier University, are pursuing a joint industry/municipal/academia project to conduct air quality monitoring using "low-cost" sensor systems during and post the COVID-19 lockdown. The use of "low-cost" sensors is an emerging application in the study of air quality in cities and municipalities and allows for the mapping of large spatial scales with a dense network due to their low cost. The sensors chosen to monitor carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and PM2.5, along side meteorological parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction and noise levels, where feasible. They will be installed at local schools since school kids are a vulnerable group to diseases caused by air pollution. Our proposal to use low cost sensors will address a societal need for access to real time information on the quality of the air they breathe wherever they are and drafting by-laws that aim at reducing air pollution. In the long term, we also envision engagement from the public in this project through Citizen Science projects, where people work with project partners in installing the sensors in their backyard.

与世界其他国家类似，安大略省于2020年3月17日宣布进入紧急状态，以限制新冠肺炎的传播。美国国家航空航天局、欧洲航天局和空气质量监测站的污染物地图显示，中国、意大利、巴黎和旧金山上空的二氧化氮水平大幅下降。空气污染被世界卫生组织认定为公共健康问题和隐形杀手。较大地理区域的空气质量指数通常以单一监测地点为基础，采用美国环保局的参考或同等方法。然而，由于地形、气象和污染源分布等因素，空气质量在短的时空尺度上可能会有很大的差异。 Kitchener市的Hemmera Envirochem Inc.和威尔弗里德·劳里埃大学的Hind Al-Abadleh博士正在实施一个行业/市政/学术界的联合项目，在新冠肺炎封锁期间和之后使用“低成本”传感器系统进行空气质量监测。“低成本”传感器的使用是城市和市政当局空气质量研究中的一个新兴应用，由于其低成本，可以用密集的网络绘制大空间尺度的地图。传感器被选来监测二氧化碳、氮氧化物、二氧化硫、臭氧和PM2.5，以及温度、相对湿度、风速和风向以及噪音水平等气象参数，在可行的情况下。它们将安装在当地学校，因为学童是一个易受空气污染引起的疾病影响的群体。 我们提出的使用低成本传感器的建议，将满足社会对获取他们在任何地方呼吸的空气质量的实时信息的需求，并起草旨在减少空气污染的附则。从长远来看，我们还设想通过公民科学项目让公众参与到这个项目中来，在这个项目中，人们与项目合作伙伴合作，在他们的后院安装传感器。