Air Quality Monitor App

How do I find the closest station to me?

1. Click on PurpleAir Station ID #
2. Click on the station that is closest to you.
3. Copy the URL in the address bar, and paste into the FIND text box.
4. Click Find
5. Done. It's saved, and set for you.

How do you calculate this?

Step 1: I convert PM2.5 to AQI. That's the number of particles in the air that are a certain size. For this operation I used the same equation as the Air Now calculator.

Step 2: based on this research, the health impact of a particle concentration of 22ug/m3 per 24 hours is equivalent to about 1 cigarette. I divided the concentration from step 1 by 22 and 24, then multiplied by the number of hours exposed. This isn't going to be completely accurate since some kinds of air pollution are worse (wood smoke is apparently not as bad for you, for example) and I'm sure cigarettes vary in lethality. Note that I am looking at impact to health, not particles inhaled.

Step 3: based on lung volumes during rest/exercise you consume different amounts of oxygen. So with 40 breaths per minute with an average volume of 3L/breath during vigorous exercise I come to the conclusion that you consume 20times (.5L x 12 breaths per minute vs 3L x 40 breaths per minute) more oxygen than your resting state.

Is my logic off? Did I science wrong? Please email or contact me with your comments.