Developing an optical sensor for local monitoring of air pollution in Mexico

This paper is devoted to the development of a prototype optical sensor for observing suspended particles in air at a local level on the territory of Mexico City. The first part of the article discusses an urban atmospheric monitoring system, with special interest in PM2.5 and PM10 particles because of their negative effect on human health and because they degrade the characteristics of optical communication. Its advantages and disadvantages are then analyzed, and it is shown that local monitoring is necessary. A new technical setup is proposed, based on the attenuation of the output optical signal as it is transmitted through open space. The data of official information sources, observational data bases, and interactive maps of the Sistema Nacional de Informacion de la Calidad del Aire and preliminary results of experiments are used to implement the work. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America.