DEC launches new air quality sensor monitoring website

• For immediate release  — November 16, 2020
• Contact: Barbara Trost, 907-269-6249, barbara.trost@alaska.gov

Juneau and Ketchikan residents who want to monitor local air quality have a new tool at their disposal.

The Department of Environmental Conservation’s Air Monitoring and Quality Assurance program deployed AQMesh air sensors to the communities that measure particulate matter (PM), a variety of gaseous pollutants, and provide meteorological data for a more complete picture of air quality impacts. Real-time and historical data collected by the AQMesh sensors can be seen on the Southeast Alaska Air Quality Sensor Data webpage.

DEC worked with the Ketchikan Indian Community to expand air quality monitoring efforts in Ketchikan, providing two AQMesh sensors and consulting on their deployment. In Juneau, three AQMesh sensors have been installed in locations identified as representative for the downtown area during the 2019 saturation study. The sensors were installed in Juneau and Ketchikan over the summer, and DEC hopes to continue their operation into the winter. However, this will be dependent on weather and sensor performance. If the sensors have to be taken down during the winter, they will be re-installed in the spring.

Moving forward, DEC plans on expanding the AQMesh sensor network to other Southeast Alaska communities.