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The goal of the present research was to assess, under controlled laboratory conditions, the accuracy and precision of a prototype device (named 'P.ALP': Ph.D. Air-quality Low-cost Project) developed for PM2.5 concentration level monitoring. Indeed, this study follows a complementary manuscript (previously published) focusing on the in-field evaluation of the device's performance. Four P.ALP prototypes were co-located with the reference instrument in a calm-air aerosol chamber at the NIOSH laboratories in Pittsburgh, PA (USA), used by the Center for Direct Reading and Sensor Technologies. The devices were tested for 10 monitoring days under several exposure conditions. To evaluate the performance of the prototypes, different approaches were employed. After the data from the devices were stored and prepared for analysis, to assess the accuracy (comparing the reference instrument with the prototypes) and the precision (comparing all the possible pairs of devices) of the P.ALPs, linear regression analysis was performed. Moreover, to find out the applicability field of this device, the US EPA's suggested criteria were adopted, and to assess error trends of the prototype in the process of data acquisition, Bland–Altman plots were built. The findings show that, by introducing ad hoc calibration factors, the P.ALP's performance needs to be further implemented, but the device can monitor the concentration trend variations with satisfying accuracy. Overall, the P.ALP can be involved in and adapted to a wide range of applications because of the inexpensive nature of the components, the small dimensions, and the high data storage capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, technological advancements have been made available and applied in a wide range of applications in several work fields, ranging from personal to industrial enforcements. One of the emerging issues concerns occupational safety and health in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and, in more detail, it deals with how industrial hygienists could improve the risk-assessment process. A possible way to achieve these aims is the adoption of new exposure-monitoring tools. In this study, a systematic review of the up-to-date scientific literature has been performed to identify and discuss the most-used sensors that could be useful for occupational risk assessment, with the intent of highlighting their pros and cons. A total of 40 papers have been included in this manuscript. The results show that sensors able to investigate airborne pollutants (i.e., gaseous pollutants and particulate matter), environmental conditions, physical agents, and workers' postures could be usefully adopted in the risk-assessment process, since they could report significant data without significantly interfering with the job activities of the investigated subjects. To date, there are only few "next-generation" monitors and sensors (NGMSs) that could be effectively used on the workplace to preserve human health. Due to this fact, the development and the validation of new NGMSs will be crucial in the upcoming years, to adopt these technologies in occupational-risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the precision, accuracy, practicality, and potential uses of a PM2.5 miniaturized monitor (MM) in exposure assessment. These monitors (AirBeam, HabitatMap) were compared with the widely used direct-reading particulate matter monitors and a gravimetric reference method for PM2.5. Instruments were tested during 20 monitoring sessions that were subdivided in two different seasons to evaluate the performance of sensors across various environmental and meteorological conditions. Measurements were performed at an urban background site in Como, Italy. To evaluate the performance of the instruments, different analyses were conducted on 8-h averaged PM2.5 concentrations for comparison between direct-reading monitors and the gravimetric method, and minute-averaged data for comparison between the direct-reading instruments. A linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate whether the two measurement methods, when compared, could be considered comparable and/or mutually predictive. Further, Bland-Altman plots were used to determine whether the methods were characterized by specific biases. Finally, the correlations between the error associated with the direct-reading instruments and the meteorological parameters acquired at the sampling point were investigated. Principal results show a moderate degree of agreement between MMs and the reference method and a bias that increased with an increase in PM2.5 concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last years, the issue of exposure assessment of airborne pollutants has been on the rise, both in the environmental and occupational fields. Increasingly severe national and international air quality standards, indoor air guidance values, and exposure limit values have been developed to protect the health of the general population and workers; this issue required a significant and continuous improvement in monitoring technologies to allow the execution of proper exposure assessment studies. One of the most interesting aspects in this field is the development of the "next-generation" of airborne pollutants monitors and sensors (NGMS). The principal aim of this review is to analyze and characterize the state of the art and of NGMS and their practical applications in exposure assessment studies. A systematic review of the literature was performed analyzing outcomes from three different databases (Scopus, PubMed, Isi Web of Knowledge); a total of 67 scientific papers were analyzed. The reviewing process was conducting systematically with the aim to extrapolate information about the specifications, technologies, and applicability of NGMSs in both environmental and occupational exposure assessment. The principal results of this review show that the use of NGMSs is becoming increasingly common in the scientific community for both environmental and occupational exposure assessment. The available studies outlined that NGMSs cannot be used as reference instrumentation in air monitoring for regulatory purposes, but at the same time, they can be easily adapted to more specific applications, improving exposure assessment studies in terms of spatiotemporal resolution, wearability, and adaptability to different types of projects and applications. Nevertheless, improvements needed to further enhance NGMSs performances and allow their wider use in the field of exposure assessment are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]