GGD Haaglanden and residents measure air quality in The Hague together

Living Lab Haven

In the spring of 2019, residents near the port of Scheveningen measured the air quality for two months. They wanted to gain more insight into air pollution from ships. The results were presented to the residents in September, but no conclusions could be drawn because the study design was too complicated.

Living Lab - Flat

The sustainability committee of a high-rise apartment complex at a busy intersection in the Escamp district in The Hague was interested in air quality. From December 2019 to February 2020 they measured it with sensors on different floors (1, 3, 6 and 9). Would the air quality on the top floor be better than on the lowest?
They measured the amount of particulate matter (PM ₁ , PM _2.5 and PM ₁₀ ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO ₂ ) and compared the mean concentrations per week.
As far as particulate matter was concerned, they were unable to observe any improvement in air quality on the highest floors. The PM1 concentration was even higher _on the top floor. They were also unable to measure more particulate matter during the morning and evening rush hours compared to the rest of the day. Two nitrogen dioxide sensors indicated that the concentrations were somewhat higher during rush hour, but there was no difference between the floors.

Evaluation and lessons learned

The two projects taught us a lot about measuring with sensors. Therefore, these tips for when you get started yourself.

• Choose a simple target. See if your sensors are suitable to achieve this goal.
• If you want to know whether your measurement is correct, you can hang a sensor next to an official measuring station. If you only want to know a trend, this is not necessary.
• Place all your sensors next to each other at the beginning and end of the measurement period, in similar conditions as during the measurement.
• To be able to say something meaningful about air quality, you have to measure for a long time, preferably a year.
• Interpreting measurement results is not easy. If you're not sure how, get help.
• The air quality varies enormously from day to day. To compare the air quality, you can, for example, work with weekly averages.
• The fine dust sensors are often sensitive to high humidity. The measurements must then be corrected. You will find more information about this on the website of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

An alternative to measurements are model calculations. You can find this for the Netherlands, for example, at www.atlasleefmilieu.nl , and for Flanders on the website of the Flemish Environment Agency. Check your own place there. These model calculations also provide a good estimate of the air quality.

More information can be found in the final report on the measurements in The Hague .