The vital importance of air to humans is justified by the biological need for oxygen, which accounts for approximately 21% of inhaled air (NASA, 2016). Oxygen is vital to the human body, and therefore air as a source must be subject to serious control requirements. In particular, a large number of microscopic inclusions can be found in air masses, counting dust, soot, dirt, and heavy metals. In addition, chemical vapors can also reduce air quality. In turn, such impurities can bring negative health effects, initiating the development of respiratory disease, asthma, and lung cancer (WHO, 2019). In order to control air quality and avoid critical air pollution, automatic continuous monitoring systems should be used.
The Air Particles and Air Quality lab work was chosen to conduct the air analysis, which assesses air masses’ quality in an area by measuring particle counts. Measurements were taken in Wichita, Kansas, over four days from March 7-10, 2021. Air quality was analyzed using the air quality index, AQI, which is the EPA’s unit of measurement for cleanliness. The four-day observation results are shown in the table, which shows that the range of quality ranged from 21 to 36 AQIs.
As shown in the Data Table, the average pollution in the area during the four-day analysis was 31.5 US AQI. Given the EPA’s air quality scale, this number characterizes good and relatively clean air in which risk factors are either minimized or absent (“Air Quality Index,” n.d.). Turning to more detailed statistics, the average during the analysis period was no more than 63% of the upper limit of the good zone, indicating very safe air for consumption.
An interactive pollution map was used to monitor air cleanliness in neighboring regions with the city of Wichita (“IQAIR Map,” 2021). Little Rock, Birmingham, and Jefferson City counties were shown to have the highest pollution values, but they were all in Safety Class 2, which means they were moderated. On the other hand, the areas closer to Wichita, Cedar Bluff, Goodland, and Seiling had extremely clean air on the EPA scale.
References
Air Quality Index (AQI) basics. (n.d.). AirNow.
IQAIR Map (2021). IQAIR. Web.
NASA. (2016). 10 interesting things about air. Global Climate Change.
WHO. (2019). Air pollution. WHO.