CAGIS Virtual Seminar Presents Yoo Min Park “Personal exposure monitoring using GPS-enabled portable air pollution sensors”

Update: recording of this talk is avaliable at the CAGIS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfoz4aBkHaMxbhGhO_UZ_Nu9Mujnk_bsU Please join us Thursday, November 3rd at 1:00 to learn more how “place” explicitly influences an individual’s exposure to air pollution. For this Virtual Seminar we will be hearing Dr. Yoo Min Park discuss her study: Personal exposure monitoring using GPS-enabled portable air pollution sensors: A strategy to
promote citizen awareness and behavioral changes regarding indoor and outdoor air
pollution Dr. Park is an Assistant Professor in East Carolina University’s Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, who leverages geospatial technologies to better understand environmental health, environmental justice and health disparities. Zoom Link here.

Abstract

Many Latino/Hispanic people work in highly polluting industries (e.g., construction, restaurants, manufacturing, and agriculture), and live in manufactured housing. However, little is known about how they are exposed to air pollution in various indoor and outdoor microenvironments during daily activities. This study uses a new, GPS-enabled, portable air monitor (GeoAir2) to increase their awareness of indoor/outdoor air quality, and ultimately foster behavioral changes to reduce their exposure and health risks. It also aims to identify the locations and times at which Latino/Hispanic people experience high exposure and the activities that lead to pollution peaks by combining their geo-referenced air pollution data and travel-activity diaries.

This study revealed that most participants experienced higher pollutant exposure indoors than outdoors, both at home without adequate ventilation, as well as at their workplaces. It has also found that participation in the study, coupled with travel-activity diaries, had a positive impact on people’s attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors related to indoor and outdoor air pollution. This research highlights the importance of community engagement in air monitoring for effective risk communication and air pollution management.

Biography

Dr. Yoo Min Park’s work focuses on understanding environmental health, environmental justice, and health disparities using GIS, geospatial technologies, and spatial statistical methods. She utilizes high-resolution environmental data and people’s travel patterns to identify how people interact with environmental/social factors when they move through multiple microenvironments. She also investigates how such dynamic interactions influence an individual’s environmental exposure and health. Her doctoral dissertation was recognized with the Jacques May Prize from the American Association of Geographers (AAG) as the best dissertation addressing themes in health/medical geography. Her work has been supported by several external funding sources, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and AAG.