UNEP unveils low cost device for air quality monitoring

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) on Monday launched a low cost device to enhance air quality monitoring in developing countries.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said the device would break new ground in the fight against air pollution.

"The inauguration of a low cost air quality measurement device for developing countries will help prevent deaths and save the environment. The device has broken technological and information barriers to air quality," Steiner told journalists in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Developed by scientists from UNEP affiliated institutions, the device could collect and analyze critical data on air quality in real time with a cost of 1,500 U.S. dollars per unit.

The mobile device could capture the magnitude of toxins in the air to help inform faster response, according to UNEP's chief scientist Jacqueline McGlade.

"We have created a global platform for promoting air quality to boost human health. There is need for political commitment and investments in technology to enhance air quality," McGlade said.

Steiner said the low cost device would help mitigate negative effects of air pollution in rapidly developing cities including those in Africa.

"We need state of the art but affordable gadgets to measure air quality in low income urban settlements where air pollution is rampant," he added.

The UNEP has put the air quality monitoring device in Kenya to test its efficacy. A mobile device will help map Nairobi's air pollution hotspots.

McGlade said the UNEP would soon publish blue prints to enable countries to manufacture the device. Endit