'Pollution sniffing' van hits the streets in Metro Vancouver
A new mobile lab is helping researchers at UBC to map levels of air pollution in Metro Vancouver in real time, monitor how they change, and measure which locations are most impacted.
The Portable Laboratory for Understanding Human-Made Emissions, PLUME for short, was developed by Dr. Naomi Zimmerman and it's described as a pollution-sniffing lab on wheels.
"I'm very passionate about all air pollution sampling happening in the community, in the real world, because this is actually the air that people in our community are breathing," she said.
"I am very confident that this is really going to up the game in terms of air pollution sampling."
Zimmerman says air pollution is a linked to nine million premature deaths globally each year.
"There is no safe level of exposure to air pollution," she said. "Even at very low concentrations, there are health effects."
The van is equipped with a pump that feeds air into it constantly, that air is sampled and the information is fed into a dashboard, Zimmerman says. A UBC student serves as a "co-pilot," making in-person observations to supplement the information gathered automatically.
"What it can do is it measures a suite of both regulated air pollutants and also emerging air pollutants. It samples those air pollutants while in motion and anywhere it happens to go," she said, adding that sensors also measure wind in order to get a better idea of which direction polluted air is blowing.
Some of what it can detect includes carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ground-level ozone, black carbon, methane, and "volatile organic compounds," according to a news release from UBC.
'IF YOU SMELL IT, REPORT IT'
Another way the van is used is to map the relationship between unpleasant smells and air pollution, Zimmerman says.
"Right now, we're sampling hotspots of odour for air pollutants," she says
PLUME is part of a project called Smell Vancouver, where anyone in the region can submit reports of unpleasant smells using an app. Zimmerman says those reports will help flag places the van should visit.
The app asks people rate how offensive the smell is and to describe it by clicking on words like "fishy, smoky, chemical, decaying animal, or rotten eggs." It also asks people whether they experienced symptoms like coughing, dizziness, nausea or headache.
LINK: https://smell-vancouver.ca/
"We're using actually a citizen-science generated map of odour hotspots to know where we should go and do some sampling," she says.
"If you smell it, report it."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.