# Construction dust ... is it PM10 ... or ATM? **URL:** \ **Category:** Sensors\ **Created:** [May 17, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://community.purpleair.com/t/construction-dust-is-it-pm10-or-atm/663 "2022-05-17T15:51:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bdemchak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@bdemchak](https://community.purpleair.com/u/bdemchak)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://community.purpleair.com/t/construction-dust-is-it-pm10-or-atm/663/1 "2022-05-17T15:51:29Z")
Hi … I live near lot of earth movers that generate lots of airborne dust, depending on how the wind is blowing. Is construction dust a PM10 … seems too big for PM2.5? It seems more like ATM. Is there a PurpleAir sensor that can register this? … hoping the PA-I would work, but it doesn’t seem to have PM10 or ATM readings. Practically speaking, what’s a good monitor? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Robert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e95f7d/32.png) [@Robert](https://community.purpleair.com/u/Robert)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 8:07pm UTC](https://community.purpleair.com/t/construction-dust-is-it-pm10-or-atm/663/2 "2022-05-29T20:07:04Z")
PA-II has PM10. Seems like construction dust would register across the spectrum (PM 1 to 10). I’d think the meter is definitely going to show some difference with clean air (but I’m not an expert on this). Regards, Robert ---
**Author:** ![bdemchak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@bdemchak](https://community.purpleair.com/u/bdemchak)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 9:30pm UTC](https://community.purpleair.com/t/construction-dust-is-it-pm10-or-atm/663/3 "2022-05-29T21:30:50Z")
Thanks, Robert … I appreciate the answer. I went back to the PurpleAir site to verify it and I found something very unexpected. The PA-I and PA-II seem to have a lot of specs in common, including the range of particles detected: 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, & 10 μm. The PA-I is an inside product with one sensor, and the PA-II is an outside product with two sensors. I was hoping your suspicion would be true … it seems like the best thing to do would be try one out. Would you have anything to add? ---
**Author:** ![Robert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e95f7d/32.png) [@Robert](https://community.purpleair.com/u/Robert)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://community.purpleair.com/t/construction-dust-is-it-pm10-or-atm/663/4 "2022-05-29T21:40:33Z")
I suppose they’re the same tracker and electronics, just that the “II” has two of them for added data fidelity. I’ve found that both of mine track generally the same, on a PA-II (so a PA-I should be good enough). Good luck, be curious to know what you find. Regards, Robert P.S. I assume earth movers generate diesel exhaust too, that is PM ---
**Author:** ![bdemchak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@bdemchak](https://community.purpleair.com/u/bdemchak)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 10:42pm UTC](https://community.purpleair.com/t/construction-dust-is-it-pm10-or-atm/663/5 "2022-05-29T22:42:59Z")
Good point. Thanks for the advice! ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine\_Bootman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.purpleair.com/jasmine_bootman/32/369_2.png) [@Jasmine\_Bootman](https://community.purpleair.com/u/Jasmine_Bootman)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://community.purpleair.com/t/construction-dust-is-it-pm10-or-atm/663/6 "2022-06-16T21:31:16Z")
I came across this discussion thread and thought it might be of interest; the topic was the concern PA was underestimating dust > **[r/PurpleAir - PurpleAir Underestimation of Dusts](https://www.reddit.com/r/PurpleAir/comments/puumlc/purpleair_underestimation_of_dusts/)** > > 3 votes and 1 comment so far on Reddit