Recent progress in developing and using personal monitors to measure human exposure to air pollutants

Within the last two years, great progress has been made in the field of personal air quality monitors. Improvements in pump design, miniaturization, adsorption techniques, and new collection principles have produced about a dozen sensitive monitors capable of being used by the general public to measure their normal everyday exposure to many toxic or carcinogenic compounds. This article reviews recent progress in this field, particularly as it relates to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency programs.