Protecting Health through Monitoring Air Quality - OPENAIR: The Operational Network of Air Quality Impact Resources

The Operational Network of Air Quality Impact Resources (OPENAIR) empowers local councils to combat air pollution by providing Australia’s first common method for using low-cost smart sensors to measure air quality.

The World Health Organization considers air pollution a significant environmental threat to public health worldwide.

In a series of workshops, the councils and project team codesigned best-practice guidelines for council-led air quality monitoring using low-cost environmental sensors. This has informed 64 publicly accessible resources including:

• The OPENAIR Best Practice Guide

• 16 Factsheets that summarise key topics

• 34 Best Practice Guide chapters that provide detailed information on specific topics

• 13 supplementary tools and templates for use with the Best Practice Guide

These are available to download on the OPENAIR website at https://openair.org.au.

Poor air quality caused by bushfires, wood-fired heaters, agriculture, transportation, industry and urban heat is a significant cause of health problems and premature death in Australian communities.

Following the devastating 2019-20 Australian bushfire season, when Sydney was enveloped in smoke, the NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN) distributed a survey to the state’s local councils, seeking to learn more about their relationship to air quality monitoring. At this stage, there was no national standard for collecting air quality data and no guidance for councils that wanted to collect their own data.

The survey asked councils what air quality issues were of concern to them and what level of understanding and proficiency they had in gathering localised data. The councils’ responses showed they were affected by a range of issues, depending on their context. They also showed that many councils needed a better understanding of available technology and/or the technical know-how required to set up and maintain air monitoring sensors. Something needed to be done.

The OPENAIR project was officially launched in 2022, bringing together a cohort of researchers from five universities (University of Technology Sydney, University of Sydney, Western Sydney University, University of NSW and Australian National University), industry experts, and – most importantly – local councils from across NSW.

The project aimed to make localised air quality measuring accessible to all councils in Australia. Its mission was to develop Australia’s first best practice common method for using low-cost smart sensors to gather air quality data. To do this, OPENAIR builds capacity among councils so that they are confident in deploying and maintaining the sensors and in interpreting the data they collect.

OPENAIR is hinged on close collaboration with councils – as end-users of OPENAIR’s method and resources, their perspective was crucial to the project’s success.

In January 2022, nine councils – Wollongong City Council, Wollondilly Shire Council, City of Orange, Lake Macquarie City Council, the City of Parramatta, Sutherland Shire Council, Tweed Shire Council, Muswellbrook Shire Council and Newcastle City Council – signed on to OPENAIR. They each installed low-cost sensors in their local areas and met with the OPENAIR team on a weekly basis to share their experiences – lessons and challenges – and to form a ‘community of practice’ with other councils.

The quality data collected by councils is being shared with the NSW government to support local/state government collaboration on community air quality issues and to develop new localised air quality reporting and forecasting services.

OPENAIR was awarded the Banksia Foundation's 2024 Healthy Planet, Healthy People Award, sponsored by Bupa.

Website: https://openair.org.au/wp/