scholarly journals Developing an Open-Source, Low-Cost, Radon Monitoring System

Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Alberto Alvarellos ◽  
Juan Ramón Rabuñal
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Radon Concentration ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Health Hazard ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Agency ◽  
Radon Monitoring ◽  
Radon Concentrations

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have declared Radon gas a human carcinogen. Spain has several regions with high radon concentrations, Galicia (northwestern Spain) being one with the highest Radon concentration. In this work, we present the development of an open-source and low-cost radon monitoring and alert system. The system has two parts: devices and the backend. The devices integrate a Radon sensor, capable of measuring Radon levels every 10 min, and several environmental sensors capable of measuring temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and air pollution. The devices send all the information to the backend, which stores it, exposes it in a web interface, and uses the historical data to predict the radon levels for the following hours. If the radon levels are predicted to overpass the threshold in the next hour, the system issues an alert via several channels (email and MQTT) to the configured recipients for the corresponding device, allowing them to take measures to lower the Radon concentration. The results of this work indicate that the system allows the radon levels to be greatly reduced and makes the development of a low cost and open-source radon monitoring system feasible. The system scalability allows a network of sensors to be created that can help mitigate the health hazard that high radon concentrations create.

scholarly journals Developing a Secure Low-Cost Radon Monitoring System

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Alvarellos ◽  
Marcos Gestal ◽  
Julián Dorado ◽  
Juan Ramón Rabuñal
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Agency ◽  
Processing Unit ◽  
Communication Module ◽  
Radon Monitoring ◽  
Radon Concentrations

Radon gas has been declared a human carcinogen by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Several studies carried out in Spain highlighted the high radon concentrations in several regions, with Galicia (northwestern Spain) being one of the regions with the highest radon concentrations. The objective of this work was to create a safe and low-cost radon monitoring and alert system, based on open source technologies. To achieve this objective, the system uses devices, a collection of sensors with a processing unit and a communication module, and a backend, responsible for managing all the information, predicting radon levels and issuing alerts using open source technologies. Security is one of the largest challenges for the internet of things, and it is utterly important in the current scenario, given that high radon concentrations pose a health risk. For this reason, this work focuses on securing the entire end-to-end communication path to avoid data forging. The results of this work indicate that the development of a low-cost, yet secured, radon monitoring system is feasible, allowing one to create a network of sensors that can help mitigate the health hazards that high radon concentrations pose.

scholarly journals An Open-Source and Low-Cost Monitoring System for Precision Enology

Sensors ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 23388-23397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvatore Filippo Di Gennaro ◽  
Alessandro Matese ◽  
Mirko Mancin ◽  
Jacopo Primicerio ◽  
Alberto Palliotti
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Low Cost

Radon 222 Concentrations in the United States - Results of Sample Surveys in Five States

1988 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 307-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ronca-Battista ◽  
M. Moon ◽  
J. Bergsten ◽  
S.B. White ◽  
B. Alexander ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Random Sample ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Target Population ◽  
The United States ◽  
Measurement Protocol ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Systematic Random Sample ◽  
Radon Concentrations

Abstract During the winter of 1986-1987, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided assistance to ten states to begin state-wide radon surveys. This paper presents survey results from the five states that completed a survey using a probability sample of housing units. Radon concentrations in six thousand homes in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Wyoming were measured. The data recorded from detectors placed in those houses have been compiled into the first multi-state survey of radon levels that allows valid extrapolation to the population at large. The target population was ground level, owner occupied residences with listed telephone numbers. Each state was partitioned into strata according to geologic characteristics relevant to radon levels. A systematic random sample of telephone numbers was selected within each stratum, and the telephone numbers together with associated names and addresses were supplied to each state. Charcoal canisters were deployed for a two-day period in each sample home, following the EPA screening measurement protocol. Strict procedures were followed to ensure randomness of the sample and the accuracy of the measurements. The results were analysed to produce estimates of the frequency distribution of radon concentrations throughout each state and for areas within states. A smaller sample of residences which were volunteered by their owners in each state also received detectors. The radon data from these houses were analysed separately. Estimates from the two northern states were significantly higher than those from the more southerly states and estimates for volunteers tended to be higher than the estimates from the random sample of homes. In the former case, the differences were influenced by the proportion of homes with basements.

scholarly journals A Low-Cost, Open Source Monitoring System for Collecting High Temporal Resolution Water Use Data on Magnetically Driven Residential Water Meters

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 3655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo J. Bastidas Pacheco ◽  
Jeffery S. Horsburgh ◽  
Robb J. Tracy
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Temporal Resolution ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Residential Water Use ◽  
Water Meters ◽  
Residential Water

We present a low-cost (≈$150) monitoring system for collecting high temporal resolution residential water use data without disrupting the operation of commonly available water meters. This system was designed for installation on top of analog, magnetically driven, positive displacement, residential water meters and can collect data at a variable time resolution interval. The system couples an Arduino Pro microcontroller board, a datalogging shield customized for this specific application, and a magnetometer sensor. The system was developed and calibrated at the Utah Water Research Laboratory and was deployed for testing on five single family residences in Logan and Providence, Utah, for a period of over 1 month. Battery life for the device was estimated to be over 5 weeks with continuous data collection at a 4 s time interval. Data collected using this system, under ideal installation conditions, was within 2% of the volume recorded by the register of the meter on which they were installed. Results from field deployments are presented to demonstrate the accuracy, functionality, and applicability of the system. Results indicate that the device is capable of collecting data at a temporal resolution sufficient for identifying individual water use events and analyzing water use at coarser temporal resolutions. This system is of special interest for water end use studies, future projections of residential water use, water infrastructure design, and for advancing our understanding of water use timing and behavior. The system’s hardware design and software are open source, are available for potential reuse, and can be customized for specific research needs.

scholarly journals Measurements of PM<sub>2.5</sub> with PurpleAir under atmospheric conditions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Ardon-Dryer ◽  
Yuval Dryer ◽  
Jake N. Williams ◽  
Nastaran Moghimi
Keyword(s):  
Monitoring System ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Air Monitoring ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Distributed Monitoring ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Concentration Changes ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring Stations ◽  
Monitoring Stations

Abstract. The PurpleAir PA-II unit is a low-cost sensor for monitoring changes in the concentrations of Particulate Matter (PM) of various sizes. There are currently more than 9000 PA-II units worldwide; some of them are located in areas where no other reference air monitoring system is present. Previous studies have examined the performance of these PA-II units (or the sensor within them) in comparison to a co-located reference air monitoring system. However, because PA-II units are installed by PurpleAir customers, the PA-II units are not co-located with a reference air monitoring system and, in many cases, are not near one. This study aimed to examine how PA-II units perform under atmospheric conditions when exposed to a variety of pollutants and PM2.5 concentrations. We were interested in knowing how accurate these PA-II units are when measuring PM2.5 concentrations with their sensitivity to concentration changes in comparison to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Air Quality Monitoring Stations (AQMS) that are not co-located with them. For this study, we selected eight different locations, where each location contains multiple PA-II units (minimum of seven per location, a total of 86 units) and at least one AQMS (total of 14). PM2.5 measurements from each PA-II unit were compared to those from the AQMS and other PA-II units in its area. The comparisons were made based on hourly and daily PM2.5 measurements. In most cases, the AQMS and PA-II units were found to be in good agreement; they measured similar values and followed similar trends, that is, when the PM2.5 values measured by the AQMS increased or decreased, so did those of the PA-II. In some high-pollution events, the PA-II measured higher PM2.5 values compared to those measured by the AQMS. We found PA-II PM2.5 measurements to remain unaffected by changes in temperature or Relative Humidity (RH). Overall, the PA-II unit seems to be a promising tool for identifying relative changes in PM2.5 concentration with the potential to complement sparsely distributed monitoring stations and to aid in assessing and minimizing the public exposure to PM, particularly in areas lacking the presence of an AQMS.

scholarly journals FIRST RESULTS OF RADON MONITORING PROGRAM IN SLOVENIA ACCORDING TO EU EURATOM DIRECTIVE

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregor Omahen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Radon Concentration ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Ministry Of Health ◽  
Know How ◽  
First Results ◽  
Radon Monitoring ◽  
Radon Concentrations

In 2018 Slovenia adopted the new ordinance where the requirements of the Council of the European Union 2013/59 Euratom on radon were taken into account (2LIT). As the new ordinance requires systematic survey of radon concentrations in public institutions and dwellings in Slovenia, Ministry of Health announced two tenders for the radon surveys in 2018 and 2019. Zavod za varstvo pri delu (ZVD) successfully competed on both tenders. The tenders required measurements of radon concentrations in public institutions, mainly schools and kindergartens and in private dwellings every year in 24 municipalities which were recognised as radon prone areas. Besides these measurements ZVD as the authorised organisation measured radon concentration in companies all over Slovenia and private dwellings where owners wanted to know how high the radon concentration is and if some actions are required to lower it. The radon concentrations were measured with track etched detectors. The results of the survey are presented in the article as well as the difficulties we encountered during sending track etched detectors to people.

scholarly journals An open source Real Time IOT based environmental sensor monitoring system

10.29007/q4cf ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronak Vithlani ◽  
Siddharth Fultariya ◽  
Mahesh Jivani ◽  
Haresh Pandya
Keyword(s):  
Embedded System ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Network Construction ◽  
Embedded Sensing

In this paper, we have described an operative prototype for Internet of Things (IoT) used for consistent monitoring various environmental sensors by means of low cost open source embedded system. The explanation about the unified network construction and the interconnecting devices for the consistent measurement of environmental parameters by various sensors and broadcast of data through internet is being presented. The framework of the monitoring system is based on a combination of embedded sensing units, information structure for data collection, and intellectual and context responsiveness. The projected system does not involve a devoted server computer with respect to analogous systems and offers a light weight communication protocol to monitor environment data using sensors. Outcomes are inspiring as the consistency of sensing information broadcast through the projected unified network construction is very much reliable. The prototype was experienced to create real-time graphical information rather than a test bed set-up.

scholarly journals Open-Source Implementation of an Integrated, Low-Cost Environmental Monitoring System (EMS) for developing countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
B. H. Sudantha ◽  
K. M. H. K. Warnakulasooriya ◽  
Y. P. Jayasuriya ◽  
G. R. Ratnayaka ◽  
P. K. S. Mahanama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Environmental Monitoring ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Environmental Monitoring System
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