The Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation’s Division of Air Pollution Control (TDEC-APC) is actively researching the utility of small sensor technologies for air quality characterization.
With the influx of sensor technology and the increasing acquisition of this technology, along with the population of the monitoring results to publicly accessible platforms, federal, state, and local regulatory agencies may increasingly find themselves having to react to this third-party data. In some cases, that data may conflict with the agency’s own monitoring data for various reasons. In order to respond effectively to this type of data when necessary and maintain public confidence in the agency‘s authority and expertise to speak to the status of air quality, EPA, state and local air agencies are working to learn more about the benefits and limitations of these sensors.
TDEC-APC began its air sensor research project this year, and it is being implemented in its Quality Assurance Group in partnership with Metro’s local air program.
Updates to the project can be viewed using this Story Map. For more information, contact TDEC-APC Director Michelle Walker.