Small, wearable air pollution sensors will let workers know what they’re breathing

Every day, millions of workers head to their jobs and breathe any number of airborne chemicals, particles or vapors, all of which may or may not be affecting their health.

Measuring these pollution exposures – and making that data meaningful to workers and employers – is both difficult and expensive. Colorado State University engineers and social scientists are working to make such measurements simpler, more affordable and more comprehensive, so that workers everywhere can know what they are breathing.

A team led by JPB Fellow Ellison Carter and John Volckens in the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering has received a four-year, $2.2 million grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, part of the Centers for Disease Control, to develop radical new technologies and methods for assessing worker exposure to occupational air pollutants. Carter and Volckens are joined by an experienced team of engineers and social scientists who will help refine the successful adoption and deployment of the technology. Read more.