Is it a bird house, UFO, a Little Chief Smoker? No, it’s just air monitoring equipment being used by Seldovia Village Tribe’s Environmental Office to continue its road dust monitoring this summer.

The unusual looking devices are high-volume air samplers, which stand next to gray cases on tripods housing DustTrak II aerosol monitors. Both units collect information about levels of road dust in the air, otherwise known as PM₁₀, which is particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less. SVT has installed two of these systems along Jakolof bay Road.

“Exposure to PM₁₀ can cause breathing and respiratory conditions, damage to lung tissue and even cancer,” Environmental Assistant Tracie Merrill said. “The elderly, children and people with chronic lung disease, influenza or asthma are especially sensitive to the effects of particulate matter.” In addition, road dust can substantially reduce visibility, putting motorists and pedestrians at risk.

SVT’s environmental staff will be monitoring the road dust levels from June through the end of September. The high volume samplers are on loan to SVT from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the aerosol monitors are from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. For more information, please contact Environmental Coordinator Michael Opheim at (907) 435-3247 or mopheim@svt.org or Tracie Merrill (907) 435-3261 or tmerrill@svt.org.