84 The future of particulate matter low-cost sensor devices for emission and exposure measurements in occupational settings

Abstract The use of low-cost sensor (LCS) devices for real-time monitoring of particulate matter (PM) have significantly increased these last few years. These devices are becoming popular for qualitative and (semi)quantitative real-time monitoring of airborne particle concentrations, as they are small enough to be worn by workers and can be deployed at multiple locations in a workplace. However, it is important to assess their performance and usability before deploying them widely in occupational settings. PM LCS are mainly light scattering devices and are generally designed for measuring mass concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 in the ambient environment rather than the respirable fraction in occupational settings. Furthermore, the airborne particles found in workplaces often differ from those present in ambient air in terms of size (from few nanometres to hundreds of micrometres), shape, composition and physical state (liquid or solid) and higher concentrations are typically encountered. This poster highlights the advantages and limitations of the use of PM LCS in occupational settings. It is illustrated with work carried out on the evaluation and usability of several PM LCS devices in a laboratory test chamber and the deployment of two of them at workplaces. Respirable samplers and high-quality real-time aerosol instruments were used as references for this experimental evaluation. For PM LCS data to gain wide acceptance from the industry and the regulators, measurements should meet established standards for data quality and robustness. There is a need to establish guidance and standards for use of PM LCS in workplaces, but their development should be informed by more research in this field.