USER‐FRIENDLY AIR QUALITY MONITORING SYSTEM

ABSTRACT. A user‐friendly version of the scientific environmental monitoring kit used in Australia during a large air quality (AQ) study was created to enable routine environmental assessment in commercial livestock buildings and thus improve building environments and reduce pollutant emissions. The objective of the study was to produce a reliable and cost‐effective hardware and software system for measuring six key environmental variables. The main components of the “BASE‐Q ” system are the two measurement boxes containing the sensors; the internet‐based PC and pocket PC‐based softwares; and the Users' Manual detailing recommended monitoring procedures. The first BASE‐Q box contains sensors for measuring air temperature (AT), relative humidity (RH), the concentrations of ammonia (NH3) and carbon dioxide (CO2) up to 10‐30 days depending on the logging interval. The second contains a vacuum pump and Venturi tubes and is used to measure concentrations of inhalable and respirable particles gravimetrically over an 8 ‐ to 10‐h period. Engineering characteristics of the buildings are recorded on site and the collected data stored and processed by the internet or PC‐based BASE‐Q program. The program automatically calculates the concentrations and emission rates of the different airborne pollutants from individual buildings by using prediction models developed during related studies as a pre‐screening exercise before actual measurements are undertaken. The size and weight of the monitoring hardware have been markedly reduced to improve ease of installation and transport. The monitoring equipment has been simplified and waterproofed to improve ease of deployment and disinfection. The special software has greatly simplified data management and reporting. These improvements have reduced the labor input required for operating the system and thus minimized the cost of AQ monitoring. This will enable producers and consultants to measure AQ routinely on farms, reducing worker OH&S risks, improving environmental outcomes, and potentially improving production efficiency