Bodies sensing air pollution in asthma research

Abstract

Air pollution knowledge practices are rapidly changing in science and policy research because of growing awareness of its harmful effects on environmental and human health. Informed by developments in environmental epigenetics and exposomics, a turn to the body is now evident, which includes generating more granular data to define individual disease risks and specify personal health interventions. By turning their attention towards the body, scientific researchers are also zeroing in on the contexts and conditions of exposure, and how living environments impact air’s toxicity. Evidence shows air pollution can contribute to the development of asthma. It is not just episodes of high levels of air pollution that matter but its sources, the timing of exposure, and accumulative effects. The knowledge practices of air pollution science are therefore useful sites for exploring how air pollution is entangled within the powerful systems and political economies that enact it. The recent monitoring of asthmatic bodies (rather than environments) with wearable sensors are informing knowledge about how and when exposure happens and is particularly harmful. Yet this more contextual, practical knowledge is often disregarded because the primary focus is on generating more data. By centring the ‘sensing body’ - which highlights the spaces, times and social practices of exposure that contribute to and worsen asthma - scientific studies can generate more critical analyses of air pollution that are relevant for guiding actions to prevent harm.