HELENA — There’s a new way for Montana schools to ensure outdoor activities are safe for students and staff on smoky fall days.
A joint initiative between Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality and the University of Montana Center for Population Health Research, the PurpleAirs In Schools Project aims to provide free air quality sensors to every Montana high school.
The sensors monitor Montana’s air pollutant of concern: particulate matter (PM 2.5).
“Basically what it does is it reports the particulate matter concentration which can then be turned into an air quality index value,” said Keri Nauman, a DEQ worker who oversees the distribution of the program’s smoke monitors. “And that air quality index value can be correlated to different health categories.”
Nauman said that schools equipped with realtime updates on their air quality can make better-informed decisions about holding outdoor practices and games.
“Between the years 2006 and 2018, Montana experienced the highest percent mortalities due to smoke derived PM 2.5,” said Nauman. “So obviously, it’s a very serious threat to Montanans, and anything we can do to mitigate that exposure is a win for us.”
Air quality data from each school’s outdoor sensor is compiled into an interactive map and made available to the public online.
“It just makes it more accurate,” said Greta Buehler, the Montana High School Association’s sports medicine liaison. “And it’s easier for those small communities to determine what their air quality is and then make the right decision about whether they’re going to have practice, go inside, reschedule a game — anything like that.”
