{"id":761053,"date":"2021-07-14T12:05:13","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T19:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/?post_type=msr-blog-post&p=761053"},"modified":"2021-07-14T12:43:22","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T19:43:22","slug":"how-fireworks-impact-air-quality","status":"publish","type":"msr-blog-post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/articles\/how-fireworks-impact-air-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"How Fireworks Impact Air Quality"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fireworks\"<\/p>\n

Overview:\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fireworks displays celebrating Independence Day are a mainstay in American culture. Yet, research shows fireworks\u00a0lead to\u00a0high levels of air pollution.\u00a0For example, one study estimated\u00a0July 4th<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>celebrations produced\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>42% increase in particulate matter<\/span> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0nationwide.\u00a0<\/span>particulate matter can stay in the air for days or weeks<\/span> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0so\u00a0poor air quality from fireworks can last long after festivities have ended.\u00a0We also know that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is related to a host of poor health outcomes, including\u00a0<\/span>asthma-related outcomes<\/span> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>cardiovascular and respiratory diseases<\/span> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>poor birth outcomes<\/span> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, and even\u00a0<\/span>premature death<\/span> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Observation:<\/p>\n

\"Chicago<\/p>\n

In Chicago, we deployed over 90 air quality sensors<\/a> just before the 4<\/span>th<\/span>\u00a0of July weekend.\u00a0<\/span>Our devices showed\u00a0<\/span>city-wide\u00a0<\/span>PM2.5 levels<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>rising<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>from\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span>g<\/span>ood\u201d to \u201c<\/span>m<\/span>oderate\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>on July 4, and\u00a0<\/span>particulates\u00a0<\/span>lingered in the air for\u00a0<\/span>days.\u00a0<\/span>On July 7, average levels<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>were still over double pre-holiday readings.\u00a0<\/span>Our\u00a0<\/span>network of\u00a0<\/span>hyperlocal low-cost air sensor<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0also\u00a0<\/span>allows<\/span>\u00a0us to<\/span>\u00a0observe differences in air pollution levels across neighborhoods of Chicago. While\u00a0<\/span>our\u00a0<\/span>sensors<\/span>\u00a0are subject to some\u00a0<\/span>inaccuracies<\/span>, they can help<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>uncover<\/span>\u00a0the variability and behavior of pollution<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>adding new information to complement the data EPA collects with highly accurate but sparsely distributed stations<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>When we mapped our data,<\/span>\u00a0we\u00a0<\/span>saw<\/span>\u00a0lower levels in\u00a0<\/span>the north side<\/span>\u00a0on July 3, and\u00a0<\/span>noticeably\u00a0<\/span>higher levels in the\u00a0<\/span>south and\u00a0<\/span>southwest\u00a0<\/span>sides<\/span>\u00a0of Chicago that appear most pronounced on July 4 and 6.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These differences in pollution track social and economic differences across neighborhoods. In\u00a0<\/span>Chicago<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the second most segregated metro in the US<\/span><\/span><\/a>, communities of color cluster on the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>west, south, southwest, and southeast sides<\/span><\/span><\/a>. These are the same neighborhoods where we<\/span><\/span>\u00a0observe elevated air pollution exposures.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>public health researchers have declared residential segregation is \u201c<\/span><\/span>a fundamental cause of racial disparities in health<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u201d\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0have explicitly connected segregation to disparities in health\u00a0<\/span><\/span>via inequitable exposures air pollution<\/span><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>we<\/span>\u00a0still lack the tools needed to monitor\u00a0<\/span>exposures at the neighborhood scale \u2013 the scale at which inequities emerge<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Project Eclipse, and sensor deployments like it, could enable urban public health departments to\u00a0<\/span>monitor<\/span>\u00a0hyperlocal<\/span>\u00a0outdoor air pollution exposure<\/span>\u00a0not just over 4<\/span>th<\/span>\u00a0of July, but every day<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Author: Precious Esie (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> (Microsoft Research Intern)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fireworks displays celebrating Independence Day are a mainstay in American culture. Yet, research shows fireworks\u00a0lead to\u00a0high levels of air pollution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31130,"featured_media":761107,"template":"","meta":{"msr-url-field":"","msr-podcast-episode":"","msrModifiedDate":"","msrModifiedDateEnabled":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","msr-content-parent":144894,"msr_hide_image_in_river":0,"footnotes":""},"research-area":[],"msr-locale":[268875],"msr-post-option":[],"class_list":["post-761053","msr-blog-post","type-msr-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","msr-locale-en_us"],"msr_assoc_parent":{"id":144894,"type":"group"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-blog-post\/761053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-blog-post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/msr-blog-post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31130"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-blog-post\/761053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":761140,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-blog-post\/761053\/revisions\/761140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/761107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=761053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"msr-research-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-area?post=761053"},{"taxonomy":"msr-locale","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-locale?post=761053"},{"taxonomy":"msr-post-option","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-post-option?post=761053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}