See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329427208 The Need for Open Data on Air Quality Monitoring in Logistically Difficult Environments Article  in  Clean Air · December 2018 DOI: 10.17159/2410-972X/2018/v28n2a13 CITATIONS READS 0 63 3 authors: Gameli Adzaho Aidatu Abubakari Global Lab Network University of Ghana 4 PUBLICATIONS   7 CITATIONS    1 PUBLICATION   0 CITATIONS    SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Collins Gameli Hodoli Cranfield University 1 PUBLICATION   0 CITATIONS    SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Post Next Einstein Forum Reflections View project Digitally Connected View project All content following this page was uploaded by Gameli Adzaho on 05 December 2018. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Commentary The need for open data on air quality monitoring in logistically difficult environments Collins Gameli Hodoli1, Aidatu Abubakari2, Gameli Adzaho3 1Cranfield University, UK and Founder Clean Air One Atmosphere, Accra, Ghana 2University of Ghana Business School, Legon-Accra, Ghana 3Global Lab Network and OpenAQ Ghana, Accra, Ghana http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2410-972X/2018/v28n2a13 Background charcoal for cooking, and use of kerosene lanterns, which Reports from the World Health Organization indicate that exposes the majority of the population to diseases related to air approximately seven million people died in 2012 due to the pollution. The question that begs for an answer is, will citizens consequences of poor air quality (WHO, 2014). Air pollution is engage in these practices if they were aware of the dangers partly linked to lung and heart diseases, asthma and bronchitis. associated with them? Efforts have been made in terms of policy and data availability in developed nations to help curb air inequality. Though this More sensitization is needed to make citizens aware of the has not completely eradicated problems of air inequality, harmful effects of air pollution and the measures they need to remarkable progress seemed to have been made to reduce air adopt to mitigate it. Furthermore, if awareness is created on pollution in these countries. The same cannot be said for under- the importance of air quality, and air quality data is made open developed economies, especially countries in the Sub Saharan and easily accessible to the citizenry, there will be a positive Africa, where Ghana belongs. The adverse effects of air pollution behavioral change and they will demand policy makers to on health and general well-being in developing economies is address the challenges associated with poor air quality. alarming; sadly, availability of open data on air quality to enable scientists and individuals to take proactive measures to mitigate the effects of air pollution has become problematic. Practical steps and the way forward Commendable steps have been taken by government and other The government of Ghana has enacted several policies to ensure agencies to ensure the nation gets clean ambient air. Notable the safety of the environment and to make quality health care among these measures are the Akoben Rating to serve as an a must have for every Ghanaian. Designated state institutions incentive for adhering to air quality standards by industries responsible for protecting the environment have been working (Michaud, 2013). That notwithstanding, more needs to be done to monitor air quality and to address environmental health in terms of making air quality data accessible to individuals and problems, though they are under-resourced. These agencies, institutions, and increasing the number of monitors to cover all departments and institutions usually have a few number of parts of the country; especially areas that are more prone to air quality monitoring devices which are sparsely distributed air pollution (mining communities, lumbering sites). There is in urban centers. A large part of the country is not monitored also the need to create awareness and educate citizens on the to assess the level of pollution in these areas. Scientists and damaging consequences of air pollution. Beyond the provision researchers need air quality data, both historical and real time, of access to air quality data, the available data should be to solve the challenges of poor air quality. Open data on air presented to the citizenry in a form and language they can easily quality seem to be lacking, and access to reliable air quality understand to make them take the necessary steps to curb air data from state agencies by scientist and researchers is an pollution. arduous task as there are no clear guidelines to data access. This situation makes scientists and researchers handicapped in their quest to address the issue of poor air quality. The critical issue of open AQ data in the African context Open data on air quality requires the development of some Air pollution and public awareness form of infrastructure. This includes, but is not limited to, More alarming is the fact that majority of the citizens are not reliable internet access, real time air quality monitors integrated aware of the dangerous effects of poor air quality, hence, they with general packet radio services (GPRS) for data telemetry, continue engaging in harmful practices like road-side cooking, file transfer protocol (FTP) server, reliable power source and burning of biomass in residential areas, use of fire wood and skilled human capital. For example, the Ghana Environmental CLEAN AIR JOURNAL 25 Volume 28, No 2, 2018 Commentary: The need for open data on air quality monitoring in logistically difficult environments Page 2 of 2 Protection Agency (GhEPA) uses gravimetric method for Link to the community Statement collecting data on air quality species, namely PM2.5 and https://medium.com/@openaq/community-statement-on-air- PM10, which limits its ability to report the measurement data quality-in-ghana-time-to-take-action-21fb8fb2e769 to cloud-based platforms, even though this is not impossible. The traditional air quality monitoring approaches, coupled with ad-hoc studies on air quality in Africa without uniform References environmental sensing tools, are considerable obstacles in the Amann M, Z. Klimont and F. Wagner (2013), “Regional and Global fight against air inequality in Africa. Emissions of Air Pollutants: Recent Trends and Future Scenarios”, Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 38:31–55 Relatively low-cost emerging cutting-edge high-resolution sensor networks are capable of collecting fast, reliable, real- Bojadzievska, Irena (former national OGP Coordinator and time and in situ data on air quality (AQ) when properly operated coordinator of working group for open data 2012-2014). (Brauer et al., 2012; Evans et al., 2012; Amann et al., 2013). These Personal Interview. 6 July 2016. sensors are integrated with GPRS for data telemetry and a GPS for timestamp and location service. These low-cost sensors Brauer M, M. Amman, R.T. Burnett, A. Cohen, F. Dentener, M. can bridge the gap in terms of routine air quality monitoring Ezzati (2012), “Exposure Assessment for Estimation of the Global and facilitate the work of the responsible agencies to make air Burden of Disease Attributable to Outdoor Air Pollution”, Article quality data readily available. in Environ. Sci. Technol., 46(2):652–660 Awareness ignites actions Evans J, A. Van Donkelaar, R.V. Martin, R. Burnett, D.G. Rainham and N.J. Birkett (2012), Estimates of global mortality Air quality is treated as a very sensitive subject in Africa and most attributable to particulate air pollution using satellite imagery, often a no-go area to talk about. Even staff from governmental Environmental Research, 120:33–42 agencies responsible for developing and enforcing air quality standards in many countries across Africa finds it difficult to talk Michaud, D. 2013, Akoben initiative: EPA’s report distinguishes about it. A personal communication with the staff of the GhEPA mining firms in Ghana for improved operations, 911 Metallurgist, has shown that the misinterpretation of information from few https://www.911metallurgist.com/blog/akoben-initiative-epas- experts in the governmental agencies by the public makes it report-distinguishes-mining-firms-in-ghana-for-improved- difficult for disseminating information on air quality. An explicit operations accessed October 11, 2018 example is when an officer during a presentation indicated that “most of the public vehicles on our roads pollute a lot and must OGP Macedonia, National Action Plan 2012-2014, OGP be given a critical attention.” This information was read by the Macedonia. Open Government Partnership. Accessed October general public as banning all public vehicles from operating in 11, 2018. Ghana. World Health Organization, 2014. World Health Organization: It is therefore critical for governments in Africa to find a way to 7 million deaths in 2012 due to air pollution, Beijing: WHO communicate air quality data to their citizens bearing in mind representative office China everyone has the right to breathe clean air and therefore need to know what they breathe. In Macedonia for example, open data was initially introduced in 2012 through the National Action Plan for Open Government Partnership. This action plan legally binds the government to open data in a machine-readable format. This commitment led to a follow-up study on mapping of citizen interest in the type of government collected data, of which air quality data was part (OGP Macedonia, 2018). As such, the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning (MEPP) began a project to update a dedicated website with hourly information on air quality which is auto-generated by the State Automatic System for Ambient Air Quality (Irena Bojadzievska, personal communication). The case of Macedonia is a critical example to put pressure on governmental institutions to address air pollution. Open data is key to addressing many of the challenges in the context of Ghana and wider Africa of which air pollution is critical area. CLEAN AIR JOURNAL 26 Volume 28, No 2, 2018 View publication stats