Using citizen-owned sensors for integrating environmental and health research: an exploration of domestic wood burning and air quality in The Netherlands

Particulate matter (PM), particularly PM2.5 and PM10, poses significant risks to human health, with concentrations varying across time and space. While conventional sources of PM are well-known, domestic wood burning may also substantially influence air quality, particularly in residential areas. In this study, we use publicly available citizen-owned low-cost air quality sensor data (e.g., PM2.5 and PM10) and a web-scraping dataset on woodburning devices to investigate the effect of domestic wood burning on air quality in The Netherlands. We retrieved and analyzed large volumes of sensor data, which we compared with data from calibrated sensors. By examining the temporal and spatial patterns of PM data, we assessed the potential link between domestic wood burning and air quality. We will discuss specific results but also the opportunities and challenges of the use of citizen-owned sensors, including for the integration of environmental and health research.