Networking Rwanda's Air Pollution Problem with Low-Cost Air Quality Sensors by langleydew

Dear Judges, Thank you very much for your helpful feedback on this proposal! I have made several additions to the proposal to answer your concerns. In regards to the air quality monitors, they are robust and can be left in their location for months to a year at a time. They will be packaged in weatherproof 3D printed plastic. Current results suggest that once/year calibration is enough (results from the MIT CLAIRITY network). The major drawback to these devices is that their accuracy is not at regulatory-levels yet, and requires an understanding of the response of electrical chemical sensors to things like RH and temperature. This information has been added to Section III of the Project Description. In terms of policy, I have added paragraphs on potential policy in two locations in the proposal: Section IV in the Project Description, I have added more description of potential policy (located at the end of this paragraph): Major policy concerns include the prevalence of older diesel vehicles and buses on the road, the use of inefficient cookstoves, agricultural burning and emissions (e.g., methane from rice fields), poor traffic flow within the city, and the large concentration of mototaxis within the city. The contribution of cookstoves vs vehicular emissions to air quality is controversial, and using the CO to NOx (NO+NO2) ratios, measured by the sensors, will theoretically allow source apportionment of diesel versus burning emissions (as vehicles and cookfires emit different ratios of CO/NOx). These data will help policy makers focus on the heaviest emitters first. Locating the sensor next to major roadways will allow pollution concentrations over the day to be observed and the 10 second time resolution of the sensors will allow individual emission plumes from passing vehicles to be captured, demonstrating the effectiveness of enforcing emissions testing. This will also help the government target areas for improved traffic flow (e.g., traffic light sensors, wider roads). Other examples of policy that could arise from these measurements are low and no burn days, purchase of more efficient buses and increased bus coverage, lower building height to reduce urban-canyon effects, and an enforcement of a no-idling policy in bus parks. Rwanda has recently adopted a low-sulfur fuel policy, but requiring higher purity of fuel for vehicular use could also reduce emissions. And in the timeline, 5-15 years, this paragraph has been added: •Development of more policy to guide Rwanda’s growth. Future policy, depending on initial experimental results, to regulate emissions could include 1) stricter emission regulations 2) regulations on the type of vehicle allowed to be imported into Rwanda 3) purchase of newer, more-efficient and larger capacity buses and increased bus coverage 4) introduction of measures to control traffic flow (e.g., sensor-based traffic lights, wider streets) 5) regulations on cookstoves for purchase (must be above a certain level of efficiency) 6) bike lanes on major roads and mapped bike routes around the city 7) a push for the construction of energy-efficient buildings and use of alternative energy (as Rwanda is sunny most of the year, and at high altitude, solar energy would be particularly attractive), among others. If Rwanda transitions quickly to emission levels such as those in North America, its development will avoid an initial heavy emission phase.