Sensors loaned to Lyonnais to explore air quality

Atmo will lend sensors to the inhabitants of Lyon so that they can measure air quality for free.

-

• Atmo, the network responsible for monitoring air quality, will lend sensors to the inhabitants of Lyon, Grenoble and Clermont-Ferrand.

• As of September 21, they will be able to freely measure the air quality.

• The objective: to better understand the different sources of fine particle pollution.

Is the air in downtown Lyon as unbreathable as you think?

Are you safe from fine particles inside your car when driving with the windows closed or with the air conditioning activated?

What is the risk of our lungs as soon as we light candles inside our home?

So many tests that the inhabitants of the Lyon metropolis can carry out.

But also from Grenoble and Clermont-Ferrand.

Atmo, the network responsible for monitoring air quality in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, will launch Captothèque on September 21, a sensor loan service to allow free measurement of air quality.

Fifteen people will be selected each month and for 10 months to participate in the experiment.

To do this, they will have to load the application of the same name on their phones (with the exception of Iphone) and will each have a period of 15 days to carry out “free measurements” and take up “challenges”.

Spark plugs, exhaust and electronic cigarette

They will also have the task of accomplishing certain "missions", among which: recording measurements during the journey between home and work, measuring the air quality at the office or the emissions of exhaust gases, comparing the readings at home before and after ventilating the home…

was a preview for the exercise.

And the results are sometimes surprising.

You will quickly realize, for example, that e-cigarette vapors panic the sensor in less time than it takes to write it down.

The curves reflecting the various fine particle emissions are tinged with red and reach peaks in a few tenths of a second.

Up to 5.537 µg / m3.

That is to say 80 times more than the emissions of fine particles recorded during a walk near the Part-Dieu station, when we (wrongly) imagine breathing exhaust gas smells at the top of our lungs.

Beware of scented candles, whose fragrant fumes are much more harmful than the exhaust fumes of a city car classified as Crit'Air 2 sticker. One thing leading to another, we are going from one discovery to another, understanding that the danger is not always where you expect it to be.

And that is the whole point of the experiment.

"There is often a lack of knowledge of the sources and phenomena at the origin of pollution episodes", explains Claire Labartette, Atmo regional correspondent.

Involve citizens to change their behavior

“We have seen recently, through a survey we conducted, that there was a desire to change behavior.

It's very strong among young people, she continues.

Once the exploration is completed, it is believed that the involvement of citizens will be stronger ”.

“A person who takes part in the test is bound to arouse curiosity.

She will talk about it around her.

This will generate discussions, ”adds Andrew Frei, in charge of Captothèque design.

Users, who can register on the captothèque.fr site, will be asked to discuss and compare their experiences at the end of each session.

"The idea is that this accelerates the awareness of everyone and that it then makes it possible to modify their behavior by paying more attention (to the different sources) of pollution", concludes Andrew Frei.

Planet

Lyon: "The problem today is to keep the benefits of containment", points out the Regional Air Quality Observatory

Society

Lyon: Why, despite the confinement, the air still remains (a little) polluted in the metropolis

• Air pollution

• Environment

• Lyon

• Planet

• Fine particles

• Pollution