Development and Field Validation of a Community-Engaged Particulate Matter Air Quality Monitoring Network

Particulate matter (PM), a collection of liquid and solid particles in the air, has been found to be associated with numerous adverse health outcomes across the life course, including adverse birth outcomes, incident childhood asthma, delayed lung function development, cardiovascular disease development, cancer incidence and premature death (Anderson et al., 2011; Brook et al., 2017; Khreis et al., 2017; Atkinson et al., 2016). Asthmatic children are particularly at-risk from high PM levels due to heightened airway responsiveness, such that air pollution can often cause exacerbation of symptoms (Schwartz, 2004). Imperial County, located in southeastern California, has had levels of PM2.5 (PM under 2.5 μm in diameter) and PM10 (PM under 10 μm in diameter) that have repeatedly exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (Imperial County Air Pollution Control District, 2013; California Air Resources Board, 2015). The county also has the second highest rate of childhood asthma emergency