{"id":40855,"date":"2026-03-23T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T12:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=40855"},"modified":"2026-03-23T13:04:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:04:36","slug":"washingtons-expansive-air-quality-monitoring-network-aids-public-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/washingtons-expansive-air-quality-monitoring-network-aids-public-health.htm","title":{"rendered":"Washington\u2019s Expansive Air Quality Monitoring Network Aids Public Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington is a large state with a variety of ecosystems, stretching from lush rainforests and towering mountains in the west to vast grasslands and deserts in the east. The state\u2019s nature is important for its 8 million residents, who rely on many different ecosystem services.<\/p>\n

An important ecosystem service is air quality, which is monitored in the Evergreen State by the Washington State Department of Ecology<\/a> (Ecology). This is especially important in Washington and many areas in the American West, where wildfires<\/a> pose a risk to air quality.<\/p>\n

Wes Davis is an environmental specialist within Ecology\u2019s air quality program, and he helps maintain a network of air quality sensors across the state. Hundreds of instruments, from large BAM sensors<\/a> to low-cost ambient monitors, have been placed around Washington to collect and transmit data. And in a state with vast swings in air quality, maintaining this network is vital.<\/p>\n

\"A

A low-cost in-house air quality monitoring device (called a SensWA) installed near a community garden. (Credit: Washington State Department of Ecology)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Washington\u2019s Air Quality Monitoring Network<\/span><\/h3>\n

Davis explains that Ecology has created a network of dozens of air quality monitoring<\/a> stations.<\/p>\n

The Ecology department collects data, sets guidelines<\/a> for this network, and operates a state-wide telemetry system<\/a>, but works with regional offices, Tribes, and local agencies to maintain the network.<\/p>\n

\u201cData is collected on site by our logger nodes […] and then all of the data on the Washington network is collected via data logger<\/a> and then transmitted back to our central database here in HQ,\u201d Davis says. \u201cAnd then from there, it’s streamed to the public or used for research purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The public can find the monitoring sites and access their data through Ecology\u2019s air quality monitoring map<\/a>, which shows the calculated Air Quality Index for each site. This index is calculated using the rolling 12-hour average of the most hazardous pollutant at each site.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a convenient way to communicate to the public the most present hazard that they should make decisions based upon,\u201d Davis says.<\/p>\n

Davis himself works as a repair technician, often fixing faulty instruments at Ecology\u2019s headquarters near Olympia or troubleshooting with regional operators, helping to keep the statewide system functioning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat may be replacing a component, that may be a system coming back to the lab for repair. It may be, depending on the situation, traveling to a site to swap in a new instrument or to perform a repair in the field,\u201d Davis explains. \u201cIt\u2019s very situation-dependent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Davis's

Davis’s colleagues, John Wolbert and Qianna Xu, performing seasonal maintenance on an ozone monitor. (Credit: Washington State Department of Ecology)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

With dozens of sites across the state, the instrumentation will differ, and Davis works with many different sensors. However, he says that several of the same basic parameters are measured at each site.<\/p>\n

The primary air quality indicator that the Ecology department measures is fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Davis explains that ambient air is continuously sampled, filtered, and measured for an ambient mass concentration of PM2.5. Some sites also contain instruments that measure concentrations of gases like ozone, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides.<\/p>\n

Davis says that background weather conditions are also measured at most sites, along with air quality. Air temperature and pressure are recorded with ambient sensors, and Vaisala<\/a> anemometers measure wind speed and direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s context for what we’ll see from the instrumentation,\u201d says Davis, explaining how weather conditions can help Ecology understand why they\u2019re seeing certain air quality trends in certain places. \u201cWe operate across a very wide variety of localized environments and climates, and that all comes into play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite sites located across the state, they\u2019re not evenly spread out. Davis explains they\u2019re often located in population centers, with less out in Washington\u2019s vast wilderness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese sites are typically going to be located at something like a fire department, a school, a library, a police department, a public partner that we can rely on for the foreseeable future,\u201d Davis says.<\/p>\n

Therefore, both local weather and geography play a role in air quality measurements. In Seattle, the releases from various industrial processes mean Ecology analyzes filter samples for organics and metals. Meanwhile, in the eastern part of the state, the arid landscape may cause dust contamination within the instruments.<\/p>\n

Even with the challenges of maintaining such a large air quality monitoring system, Ecology employees know the benefits are important.<\/p>\n

Taylor Van Cise, the Air Quality Program\u2019s communications manager, says their monitoring network is most vital during the wildfire season, when fires hundreds of miles away can still impact Washingtonians.<\/p>\n

\"A

A crew from the Northwest Region Office installing equipment at a monitoring site. (Credit: Washington State Department of Ecology)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Air Quality Monitoring During Wildfire Season<\/span><\/h3>\n

Washington\u2019s wildfire season often runs from June to October, according to the state\u2019s Emergency Management Division<\/a>. Van Cise says this is when their network is most utilized.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have a bad wildfire season, we’re seeing maybe a million visitors a summer on that map. And that’s just directly to that link<\/a>, it\u2019s not necessarily the shared view of it elsewhere,\u201d Van Cise says.<\/p>\n

He explains that other organizations use Ecology\u2019s data during this time. State divisions like the Department of Natural Resources<\/a> link to their page, and local news stations will use the data for weather forecasts.<\/p>\n

With such high usage in the summer, Davis says the Air Quality Program changes its routine. He\u2019ll still fix instrumentation as needed, but bigger projects are pushed to the side to prioritize keeping the website up to date.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose times of year where we’re seeing higher values, we effectively treat that data as more valuable because it’s more likely to affect people’s health,\u201d Davis explains. \u201cSo, we’ll push off decisions to do maintenance or swap out a system, which gets pushed off to a certain time of year.\u201d<\/p>\n

That certain time of year is the winter and spring, or the non-wildfire season. Van Cise and Davis both understand and enjoy the fact that Ecology\u2019s Air Quality Program is extremely public-facing.<\/p>\n

Even if wildfire season is when most Washington residents utilize the air quality index, the monitoring system operates year-round, backed by a powerful telemetry system.<\/p>\n

\"Ecology's

Ecology’s Wes Davis examines an aethalometer, used to measure black carbon. (Credit: Washington State Department of Ecology)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Air Quality Monitoring for Public Health<\/span><\/h3>\n

Davis says the Air Quality Program can operate such a large network because of the benefits of remote, continuous monitoring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt lets us generate data while we’re sleeping,\u201d Davis says. \u201cIt’s a lot of work to get things set up, but once you get them set up, it’s a very efficient way to generate a lot of data.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of Ecology\u2019s regional partners only need to check on their local sites once a month, though some higher traffic areas, like Seattle, go out more often.<\/p>\n

Davis says these local operators are key to ensuring the entire network runs smoothly, and their experience is especially useful in more remote areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe local expertise of our operators is so important because they have that knowledge and experience, and they know their sites better than anybody,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Davis says he enjoys working with a monitoring network that impacts millions of Washington residents. He likes that the vast network is targeted toward high population centers and that the system can run 24\/7 without intensive maintenance.<\/p>\n

Although wildfire season is when most Washingtonians think about air quality, Davis likes working with a team year-round that can supply important public health data.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m really proud of the work we do, and I think we generate a massive amount of value to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The

The interior of an ozone monitor used by Ecology at its flagship Seattle station. Operators maintain the pump and other components ahead of the summertime ozone season. (Credit: Washington State Department of Ecology)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington is a large state with a variety of ecosystems, stretching from lush rainforests and towering mountains in the west to vast grasslands and deserts in the east. The state\u2019s nature is important for its 8 million residents, who rely on many different ecosystem services. An important ecosystem service is air quality, which is monitored […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":40856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,5,7,8],"tags":[2878,128,2473,2879,2874,2876,1817,2873,2880,2872,2877,2875,2843],"class_list":["post-40855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-atmosphere","category-featured-articles","category-news","category-newsfeed","tag-air-pressure","tag-air-quality","tag-air-quality-monitoring","tag-air-temperature","tag-ambient-air","tag-bam-sensor","tag-data-logger","tag-fine-particulate-matter","tag-ozone","tag-pm2-5","tag-telemetry","tag-washington","tag-wildfire"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\nWashington\u2019s Expansive Air Quality Monitoring Network Aids Public Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" 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(Credit: Washington State Department of Ecology)"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/","name":"Environmental Monitor","description":"Application and technology news for environmental professionals","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8b594a2654ef33b01e98456d99a980ef","name":"Sam Norton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63c7b190e7810222738222317750e61e11d8136e77a72177d22306d6fc15c86f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63c7b190e7810222738222317750e61e11d8136e77a72177d22306d6fc15c86f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63c7b190e7810222738222317750e61e11d8136e77a72177d22306d6fc15c86f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sam Norton"},"description":"Sam Norton is an Environmental Journalist for Fondriest Environmental. 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