Inventory of air pollutants due to brick production using ATMOTUBE® monitor in a Rural Community from Guanajuato, Mexico

In Guanajuato, Mexico, the brick industry is the main economic source of polluting emissions, with the greatest health impacts. This sector has initiated government regulatory changes, but there is currently no monitoring of its impact on health. As a first pilot phase, this project’s objective was to measure the main air pollutants in a rural community in Guanajuato, Mexico, using a low-cost ATMOTUBE® sensor and to describe the area and population group at the greatest risk of exposure.

In this project, Rebeca performed an analytical and longitudinal design from September 2023 to February 2024, using the ATMOTUBE® measurement parameters VOC, PM1, PM2.5, PM10, temperature, humidity, and pressure. During the six months of measurement, Rebeca reported average levels of pollutant concentrations for VOC, PM and air quality scores. Furthermore, she also found that these values were measured near two schools. In this work, Rebeca presented the first inventory of the main air pollutants in this rural community, with children and women being the population at greatest risk. With these data from this pilot phase, Rebeca recommended starting to implement surveillance measures for air quality alongside health and nutrition indicators, mainly for the vulnerable population of this rural community.

This description is adapted from the abstract of Rebeca’s published study in Climate: Climate 2025, 13(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli13010013