Identification of technical problems affecting performance of DustTrak DRX aerosol monitors.
The TSI DustTrak Aerosol Monitor is a portable real-time instrument widely used for particulate matter (PM) mass concentrations monitoring. The aim of this work is to report on issues that have arisen from the use of the latest generation models DustTrak DRX (8533 and 8534) in the BREATHE, UPTECH and IMPROVE projects that can compromise data quality. The main issue we encountered was the occurrence of sudden artefact jumps in PM concentration, which can involve an increase from a few to some hundreds of μg·m-3. These artefact jumps can sometimes be easily recognised ("obvious jump"), while others can be difficult to identify because the difference in the concentrations before and after the jump might be just few μg·m-3("possible jump") or because the jump is sustained over the whole monitoring period and only detectable if PM concentrations are simultaneously measured by other instruments ("hidden jump"). Moreover, in areas of relatively low PM levels, the unit reported concentration of 0μg·m-3for ambient PM concentration or even negative concentration values which may seriously compromise the dataset. These data suggest issues with the detection of low PM concentrations, which could be due to an incorrect instrument offset or the factory calibration setting being inadequate for these PM concentrations. The upward and downward artefact jumps were not related to especially dusty or clean conditions, since they have been observed in many kinds of environments: indoor and outdoor school environments, subway stations and in ambient urban background air. Therefore, PM concentration data obtained with the TSI DustTrak DRX models should be handled with care and meticulously revised before being considered valid. To prevent these issues the use of auto zero module is recommended, so the DustTrak monitor is automatic re-zeroed without requiring the presence of any user.
Institute for Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDÆA-CSIC), C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; ISGlobal, Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), C/Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: ioar.rivas@isglobal.org.
Ioar
I
Rivas
Climate and Atmospheric Science Branch, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
Mandana
M
Mazaheri
Institute for Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDÆA-CSIC), C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
Mar
M
Viana
Institute for Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDÆA-CSIC), C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
Teresa
T
Moreno
International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia; Mathematical Sciences School, Queensland University of Technology, George St, Brisbane 4000, Australia.
Samuel
S
Clifford
International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
Congrong
C
He
TSI GmbH, Research & Analytic, Neukoellner Str. 4, 52068 Aachen, Germany.
Oliver F
OF
Bischof
Institute for Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDÆA-CSIC), C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
Vânia
V
Martins
Institute for Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDÆA-CSIC), C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
Cristina
C
Reche
Institute for Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDÆA-CSIC), C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
Andrés
A
Alastuey
ISGlobal, Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), C/Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UFP), C/Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), C/Monforte de Lemos 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Mar
M
Alvarez-Pedrerol
ISGlobal, Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), C/Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Hospital del Mar Research Institute (IMIM), C/Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UFP), C/Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), C/Monforte de Lemos 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Jordi
J
Sunyer
International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
Lidia
L
Morawska
Institute for Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDÆA-CSIC), C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
Xavier
X
Querol
Mass concentration; PM(x); Performance; Portable instrument; TSI DustTrak