The Environment and You: Find Air Quality Information Helena VonVille, MLS Library Directory University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston Harris County Public Library

What is the air quality? National air quality standards What is considered unhealthy or dangerous? Air Quality Index Air Emissions Events Report Reviewed in Releases presentation See the last item in the table of contents Air Quality in Texas’ Metro Areas

National Ambient Air Quality Standards Established by the Environmental Protection Agency Intended to protect the public from exposure to harmful pollutants Includes 6 pollutants: Ozone Particulate matter Carbon monoxide Sulfur dioxide Lead Nitrogen dioxide Houston/Galveston/ Brazoria has exceeded the ozone standard and is not in “attainment”

National Air Quality Standards From:

National Air Quality Standards From:

Air Quality Index (AQI) Air Quality Index is determined in the following way: Ozone: Based on either the peak 8-hour average since midnight OR the peak one-hour measurement since midnight 85 ppb or parts per billion for an 8-hour average exceeds the NAAQS; 125 ppb for a 1-hour measurement exceeds NAAQS Houston area held to the 1-hour Sulfur dioxide and Particulate matter 24-hour average Carbon monoxide Peak 9-hour running average since midnight From:

What is the Air Quality Index? Index for reporting daily air quality 5 major pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act Ground-level ozone Particle pollution (particulate matter) Carbon monoxide Sulfur dioxide Nitrogen dioxide

Air Quality Index (cont’d)

Air Quality in Texas’ Metro Areas Air quality index for February 10, 2005 Click on any of the green boxes to pull up a more extensive report for that area. In this case, the Houston Metro Area has been selected

Report for Houston Metro Area Here is the report for the Houston Area. Let’s break it down to see if we can understand what it is telling us.

Report Components Date and time the report was generated is shown. You can select a different date if you wish. The first column shows the monitoring station. Then we see a general description of Air Quality and the Critical Pollutant, i.e. the one that is causing the most concern. The last columns show the Air Quality Index (AQI) Rating for each pollutant.

Report for Houston Metro Area (cont’d) Particulate matter is the pollutant of concern although it is not high. To learn more about air quality in Channelview, click on it.

Channelview Air Quality Click on Current Measurements at Channelview C15/A115 to view all of the currently available air quality recordings.

Channelview Report 2/10/2005 The numbers in bold show the high point for that row for the day.

Definitions in the Side Bar Information on the environmental standard can be found by clicking on any of the links in the sidebar.

Search for a Different Date You can search for a specific day as well as have the report highlight times by checking the boxes below the date/time format.

Search for a Different Date (cont’d) Ozone is highlighted here in yellow as it has gone over 80 which makes it at an unhealthy level for some people.

Create a Monthly Report From the Channelview main page, click on the link to Monthly Summary Report.

Report for October 2004 Select the month and year, and select the topic of the report you want. Click Generate Report.

Ozone ppb in October 2004 This report provides an hourly account by day of the parameter searched. In this example, a report was created that displayed ozone (parts per billion). There were several hours on October 4 th when ozone reached an unhealthy level. Take me to HAPs Return to Releases Menu