7 ms·

Air pollution linked to higher risk of irreversible sight loss

149 points by rustoo 6y ago

ahaucnx 6y ago
I mentioned it in previous posts. We have easy to use open hardware and software build instructions [1] for an air quality monitor based on a Wemos D1 mini. More than happy to help anybody who wants to build one. I have some PCBs left and can sent them to you (will only charge the postage). Feel free to contact me if you interested. [1] https://www.airgradient.com/diy/ https://www.airgradient.com/diy/
- u678u 6y ago
  That looks fun. if its your site the 'Plantower PMS5003 PM Sensor' link says it can't be shipped to the USA, presumably there are other vendors on aliexpress who do.
- kingsloi 6y ago
  That's awesome! I run a little community monitor for my little community in Gary, IN. https://millerbeach.community https://millerbeach.community. I track PM2.5/10 with a PurpleAir, but want to start tracking other pollutants/gases/VOCs, but there is no consumer-grade equipment, and I wish I could afford the $5k purchase + $1-3000 per year rental of the scientific-grade equipment from Ambilabs, EarthSense, or Kunak. I see this is PM2.5 + CO, is it possible to add other sensors to it, too?
  - ahaucnx 6y ago
    Yes. The pcb board actually has through holes to connect other sensors to unused IOs and you can easily adjust the software because it is open source.
- mrpopo 6y ago
  This is great! Thanks for the hard work. How can I contact you for the PCBs?
  - ahaucnx 6y ago
    The is a contact us button on the website. Just use that.
- acidburnNSA 6y ago
  Awesome project thanks! I did a dual indoor/outdoor homebrew weather/air quality sensor at the beginning of last summer. Very useful during the smoke season. Wayy less polished though! https://partofthething.com/thoughts/weather-and-air-quality-monitoring-station-with-esp8266-and-home-assistant/ https://partofthething.com/thoughts/weather-and-air-quality-...
  - ahaucnx 6y ago
    Very nice project! I have a question on the light and sound sensor you use. Are these able to output calibrated values eg in Lux and dB?
    - acidburnNSA 6y ago
      Well I get the raw data in a ESP8266 at which point I could certainly transform it using various calibration curves on the way to the (Home Assistant-based) dashboard.
akor 6y ago
I've wondered if air quality was an issue where I live but wanted to also be able to do something about it so I bought and air purifier with an air quality sensor (Winix D480). It mostly kicks up in the morning but I have no idea what is causing it to think the air quality is bad. For those who've gotten a real sensor how do you track what's actually causing the air quality issues so you can do something about it? I live close (1400ft / 444m) to a major highway so I've wondered if that could be a "source" but no idea how to tell.
- Havoc 6y ago
  I’ve got both - air purifier with a 2.5pm readout. Plus a separate sensor that does 2.5 and 10pm. Things that trigger it - mainly cooking. Even normal cooking can shoot levels to 4x WHO recommended. After that I’ve found that moisture can be picked up too. Ie shower. And finally on cold nights opening windows. Cause wood and gas heating by others
- xxpor 6y ago
  Does it say what type of pollutant? PM2.5 is very different from SO2 which is different from O3, etc.
  - xiphias2 6y ago
    SO2 and O3 sensors are very expensive, so almost all sensors made for homes measure PM.
    - xxpor 6y ago
      In that case it's almost certainly the highway. Tires are a massive source of PM2.5.
      - akor 6y ago
        That's my main concern although maybe air pollution from toast / allergens is just as bad.
  - 6y ago
nickt 6y ago
sensor.community promotes building an open environmental data network, and has a good guide to building an ESP8266/SDS011 based node. https://sensor.community/en/sensors/airrohr/ https://sensor.community/en/sensors/airrohr/
- retSava 6y ago
  SDS011: PM2.5 and PM10 sensor, as in 2.5 and 10 um particulate matter sensor, ie dust/pollution. Pollen too?
latch 6y ago
I really think that 20-30 years from now, pollution will be linked as the cause of the new world of stupid and crazy. Microplastics, air pollution, water contamination and poor diet are going to be seen the same way lead now is.
- elicash 6y ago
  Whenever air pollution comes up, I think about this study: https://www.vox.com/2020/1/8/21051869/indoor-air-pollution-student-achievement https://www.vox.com/2020/1/8/21051869/indoor-air-pollution-s... Basically, false alarm about a nearby gas leak led to putting air filters in classrooms. And "math scores went up by 0.20 standard deviations and English scores by 0.18 standard deviations, and the results hold up even when you control for 'detailed student demographics, including residential ZIP Code fixed effects that help control for a student’s exposure to pollution at home.'" This is "comparable in scale to some of the most optimistic studies on the potential benefits of smaller class size." This was an area that didn't have high levels of pollution, either. So, 1) in worse areas you'd expect bigger gains, and 2) even if your area isn't "bad" it's still having an impact. Pollution is invisibly doing weird things to our brains, especially children, without us realizing it. Even just taking the TEST in a filtered room raises scores!
  - novok 6y ago
    How about pollen allergies? I estimate being under a minor allergic state that is hard to notice while taking your test doesn’t help anything.
  - WorldMaker 6y ago
    Relatedly I often think about the Lead–Crime Hypothesis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis While tough to ever formally prove, the hypothesis posits that the major problems in the 70s/80s with urban crime that trailed off quickly in 90s was as much caused/worsened by leftover lead in urban environments from the mistakes of leaded gasoline as any other factor. Pollution has been a great "unseen" evil in a lot of the 19th and 20th Centuries, and its amazing given how many secondary effects we can point to that there's any debate at all remaining on efforts to fix pollution issues.
pinouchon 6y ago
Do you think air pollution can be a cause of headaches and do you have good sources for reading about this? Recently I have been having a constant headache after moving to Budapest. Went to the doctors, they found nothing wrong with me. I went back to Germany and France for two weeks, felt better there. Back to Budapest, felt worse again. I also tried to move to Bielsko-Biala in Poland and the headache has gotten even worse here (2 days since I'm in Poland) It seems far fetched that pollution is the cause of my headache because most people do not have headaches there, so I want to read more about it.
- mtoddsmith 6y ago
  I'm pretty sure my cat allergies were giving me 3-day headaches when one of our cats that I'm most allergic to would sleep in our bed and then I'd end up with the same pillow she slept on. I kept the cat out of the bedroom and no more asthma or headaches for 3-4 months now. So perhaps allergies?
- akor 6y ago
  Could also be allergies. You might try and OTC allergy medication for a bit and see if it makes any difference.
- physicles 6y ago
  I don’t have any sources, just another anecdote. I live in Beijing, and one of my friends gets a headache whenever the air gets close to 200 AQI. (That’s not the case for me or most people I know though. Me, I get a days-long sore throat once a quarter unless I have an air purifier at home and at work) Why not buy an air purifier?
zajio1am 6y ago
When air pollution in cities is discussed, many people immediately assume traffic. But for particulates, traffic is associated with just about 1/4 of total amount, while about 1/2 is associated with local solid fuel heating (both coal and wood).

149 points by rustoo 6y ago

I mentioned it in previous posts. We have easy to use open hardware and software build instructions [1] for an air quality monitor based on a Wemos D1 mini. More than happy to help anybody who wants to build one. I have some PCBs left and can sent them to you (will only charge the postage). Feel free to contact me if you interested. [1] https://www.airgradient.com/diy/ https://www.airgradient.com/diy/

u678u 6y ago
That looks fun. if its your site the 'Plantower PMS5003 PM Sensor' link says it can't be shipped to the USA, presumably there are other vendors on aliexpress who do.
kingsloi 6y ago
That's awesome! I run a little community monitor for my little community in Gary, IN. https://millerbeach.community https://millerbeach.community. I track PM2.5/10 with a PurpleAir, but want to start tracking other pollutants/gases/VOCs, but there is no consumer-grade equipment, and I wish I could afford the $5k purchase + $1-3000 per year rental of the scientific-grade equipment from Ambilabs, EarthSense, or Kunak. I see this is PM2.5 + CO, is it possible to add other sensors to it, too?
- ahaucnx 6y ago
  Yes. The pcb board actually has through holes to connect other sensors to unused IOs and you can easily adjust the software because it is open source.
mrpopo 6y ago
This is great! Thanks for the hard work. How can I contact you for the PCBs?
- ahaucnx 6y ago
  The is a contact us button on the website. Just use that.
acidburnNSA 6y ago
Awesome project thanks! I did a dual indoor/outdoor homebrew weather/air quality sensor at the beginning of last summer. Very useful during the smoke season. Wayy less polished though! https://partofthething.com/thoughts/weather-and-air-quality-monitoring-station-with-esp8266-and-home-assistant/ https://partofthething.com/thoughts/weather-and-air-quality-...
- ahaucnx 6y ago
  Very nice project! I have a question on the light and sound sensor you use. Are these able to output calibrated values eg in Lux and dB?
  - acidburnNSA 6y ago
    Well I get the raw data in a ESP8266 at which point I could certainly transform it using various calibration curves on the way to the (Home Assistant-based) dashboard.

akor 6y ago

I've wondered if air quality was an issue where I live but wanted to also be able to do something about it so I bought and air purifier with an air quality sensor (Winix D480). It mostly kicks up in the morning but I have no idea what is causing it to think the air quality is bad. For those who've gotten a real sensor how do you track what's actually causing the air quality issues so you can do something about it? I live close (1400ft / 444m) to a major highway so I've wondered if that could be a "source" but no idea how to tell.

Havoc 6y ago
I’ve got both - air purifier with a 2.5pm readout. Plus a separate sensor that does 2.5 and 10pm. Things that trigger it - mainly cooking. Even normal cooking can shoot levels to 4x WHO recommended. After that I’ve found that moisture can be picked up too. Ie shower. And finally on cold nights opening windows. Cause wood and gas heating by others
xxpor 6y ago
Does it say what type of pollutant? PM2.5 is very different from SO2 which is different from O3, etc.
- xiphias2 6y ago
  SO2 and O3 sensors are very expensive, so almost all sensors made for homes measure PM.
  - xxpor 6y ago
    In that case it's almost certainly the highway. Tires are a massive source of PM2.5.
    - akor 6y ago
      That's my main concern although maybe air pollution from toast / allergens is just as bad.
- 6y ago

nickt 6y ago

sensor.community promotes building an open environmental data network, and has a good guide to building an ESP8266/SDS011 based node. https://sensor.community/en/sensors/airrohr/ https://sensor.community/en/sensors/airrohr/

retSava 6y ago
SDS011: PM2.5 and PM10 sensor, as in 2.5 and 10 um particulate matter sensor, ie dust/pollution. Pollen too?

latch 6y ago

I really think that 20-30 years from now, pollution will be linked as the cause of the new world of stupid and crazy. Microplastics, air pollution, water contamination and poor diet are going to be seen the same way lead now is.

elicash 6y ago
Whenever air pollution comes up, I think about this study: https://www.vox.com/2020/1/8/21051869/indoor-air-pollution-student-achievement https://www.vox.com/2020/1/8/21051869/indoor-air-pollution-s... Basically, false alarm about a nearby gas leak led to putting air filters in classrooms. And "math scores went up by 0.20 standard deviations and English scores by 0.18 standard deviations, and the results hold up even when you control for 'detailed student demographics, including residential ZIP Code fixed effects that help control for a student’s exposure to pollution at home.'" This is "comparable in scale to some of the most optimistic studies on the potential benefits of smaller class size." This was an area that didn't have high levels of pollution, either. So, 1) in worse areas you'd expect bigger gains, and 2) even if your area isn't "bad" it's still having an impact. Pollution is invisibly doing weird things to our brains, especially children, without us realizing it. Even just taking the TEST in a filtered room raises scores!
- novok 6y ago
  How about pollen allergies? I estimate being under a minor allergic state that is hard to notice while taking your test doesn’t help anything.
- WorldMaker 6y ago
  Relatedly I often think about the Lead–Crime Hypothesis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis While tough to ever formally prove, the hypothesis posits that the major problems in the 70s/80s with urban crime that trailed off quickly in 90s was as much caused/worsened by leftover lead in urban environments from the mistakes of leaded gasoline as any other factor. Pollution has been a great "unseen" evil in a lot of the 19th and 20th Centuries, and its amazing given how many secondary effects we can point to that there's any debate at all remaining on efforts to fix pollution issues.

pinouchon 6y ago

Do you think air pollution can be a cause of headaches and do you have good sources for reading about this? Recently I have been having a constant headache after moving to Budapest. Went to the doctors, they found nothing wrong with me. I went back to Germany and France for two weeks, felt better there. Back to Budapest, felt worse again. I also tried to move to Bielsko-Biala in Poland and the headache has gotten even worse here (2 days since I'm in Poland) It seems far fetched that pollution is the cause of my headache because most people do not have headaches there, so I want to read more about it.

mtoddsmith 6y ago
I'm pretty sure my cat allergies were giving me 3-day headaches when one of our cats that I'm most allergic to would sleep in our bed and then I'd end up with the same pillow she slept on. I kept the cat out of the bedroom and no more asthma or headaches for 3-4 months now. So perhaps allergies?
akor 6y ago
Could also be allergies. You might try and OTC allergy medication for a bit and see if it makes any difference.
physicles 6y ago
I don’t have any sources, just another anecdote. I live in Beijing, and one of my friends gets a headache whenever the air gets close to 200 AQI. (That’s not the case for me or most people I know though. Me, I get a days-long sore throat once a quarter unless I have an air purifier at home and at work) Why not buy an air purifier?

zajio1am 6y ago

When air pollution in cities is discussed, many people immediately assume traffic. But for particulates, traffic is associated with just about 1/4 of total amount, while about 1/2 is associated with local solid fuel heating (both coal and wood).