Transcript AIRNow_and_AQI.ppt

AIRNow and the Air Quality Index:
Helping You Alert Viewers of Current and
Forecast Air Quality Conditions
Richard (Chet) Wayland
Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, NC
Timothy S. Dye
Sonoma Technology, Inc.
Petaluma, CA
STI-902117-26251
AIRNow and the Air Quality Index
Objectives of this course are to provide
• Familiarity with the major pollutants
• Understanding of the Air Quality Index
• Information you can use in broadcasts
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Course Topics
• Introduction (Chet)
• What is smog? (Tim)
• Air Quality Index (Tim)
• Information for Broadcasters (Tim)
• Health effects and actions (Chet)
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Introduction – What is Air Quality?
• Air quality - the health-related and
visual characteristics of the air
• Includes:
Natural pollutants
Man-made pollutants
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Introduction – What is Air Quality?
Classes of pollutants
– Criteria (smog)
• Ground-level ozone
• Particle pollution (small and large)
• Carbon Monoxide, and others
Ozone
– Toxic compounds
• Hazardous air pollutants
• Benzene, formaldehyde, toluene
• and many others
– Greenhouse gases
• Carbon Dioxide and others
Particle
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Introduction – Why is AQ Important?
“Based on air quality
data from 2003, more
than 120 million people
lived in counties with
poor air quality…”
Number of People Living in Counties With Air Quality
Concentrations above the Level of the NAAQS* in 2003
-- Source: EPA
* National Ambient Air Quality Standards
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Introduction – Why is AQ Important?
• Like the weather, local air quality
– Impacts peoples lives on a daily basis
– Changes from day to day
– Impacts on the economy (crops, health insurance,
hospitalizations, etc.)
• For many, it can cause health issues when
levels are unhealthy
• For some, the effects of poor air quality can
be serious… even cause mortality
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Introduction – Who is Affected?
• People who work/exercise outdoors
– They have a greater risk of exposure
• People with heart or lung disease
– Conditions make them vulnerable
• Older adults
– Greater prevalence of heart and lung disease
• Children
– More likely to be active
– Breathe more air per pound
– Bodies still developing
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Introduction – What Does EPA Offer?
• EPA’s mission is to “protect human health
and the environment”
• Regulatory programs provide long-term clean
air solutions
• The AIRNow program provides current and
forecast information for health protection
• The Air Quality Index (AQI) links air quality
and health effects
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What is Smog?
Origin: smoke and fog = Smog
– Ozone, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides,
particles, and other chemically
reactive compounds.
– The word “smog” coined
in early 1900s by Harold A.
Des Veaux to describe
conditions of sooty fog in Britain.
– Also known as “pea soupers”
and “great stinking fogs”.
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History of Smog (1 of 2)
1300
1750s
1943:
In England, King Edward II banned coal burning in
London while parliament was in session and
announced that “whosoever shall be found guilty of
burning coal shall suffer the loss of his head.”
Under stable conditions, London’s urban plume of
smoke was observed at distances of 100 km
The first recognized
episodes of smog
occurred in Los Angeles.
Visibility was only three
blocks and people
suffered from itchy eyes,
respiratory discomfort,
nausea, and vomiting.
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History of Smog (2 of 2)
1948
In Donora, Pennsylvania, air pollution episode killed 20 people, and
half the town's 12,000 residents became ill due to uncontrolled
emissions from industrial facilities and stagnant weather.
Source: When
Smoke Ran Like
Water, Devra
Davis, Perseus
Books
1952
In London, dense fog and sooty black coal smoke killed thousands.
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Pollutants
Pollutants originate from
• Combustion of fossil fuels and organic matter
• Complete combustion: Fuel  water and Carbon
Dioxide (CO2)
• Incomplete combustion: Fuel  water, CO2,
pollutants
• Evaporation of compounds
• Natural production of smoke from fires, dust from
strong winds, and emissions from the biosphere
and geosphere
• Chemical reaction in the atmosphere
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Pollutants – Evaporation
•
•
•
•
Thousands of chemical compounds
Liquids evaporating or gases being released
Some harmful by themselves, some react to produce other pollutants
Many items you can smell are evaporative pollutants:
–
–
–
–
–
–
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–
–
–
–
Gasoline – benzene (sweet odor, toxic, carcinogenic)
House cleaners: Pinesol – pinenes (ozone-forming)
Bleach – chlorine (toxic, greenhouse gas)
Plants – isoprene (ozone-forming)
Trees – pinenes, limonene (ozone- and particulate matter forming)
Paint – volatile organic compounds (ozone- and particulate matter forming)
“New car smell” – complex mixture of VOCs including toluene, acetone,
xylenes (toxics, ozone-forming)
Aerosol hairspray, deodorant – butane is used as a propellant (ozoneforming)
Rubber cement, nail polish – toluene (toxic, ozone-forming)
Pressed wood products – formaldehyde (toxic, carcinogenic, ozone-forming)
Baking bread, fermenting wine and beer – VOCs and ethanol (ozoneforming)
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Pollutants – Natural Production
• Fires = combustion,
producing gases
and particles
• Winds “pick up” dust, dirt,
sand, creating particles
of various sizes
• Biosphere – emits gases from trees,
plants, soil, ocean, animals, microbes
• Volcanoes and oil seeps – produce
particles and gases
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Pollutants – Criteria
• Response to 1970 Clean Air Act
• Established the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) for six pollutants:
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–
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Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
Ozone (O3)
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
Particulate matter (PM10)
Particulate matter (PM2.5)*
Lead (Pb)
Carbon monoxide (CO)
Number of People Living in Counties With Air Quality
Concentrations above the Level of the NAAQS* in 2003
* National Ambient Air Quality Standards
*
established after 1970
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Smog – Pollutants in Smog
Ozone
• A colorless gas
• Composed of three oxygen atoms
– Oxygen molecule (O2) – needed to breathe to sustain
life
– Ozone (O3) – extra oxygen atom makes ozone very
reactive
• Formed by precursor gases in sunlight
– Nitric oxide (NO) – combustion product
– Volatile organic compounds – evaporative and
combustion products
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Pollutants – Particulate Matter
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A complex mixture of solid and liquid particles
Composed of many different compounds
Sizes vary tremendously
Forms in many ways
Affects visibility - haze is basically particles
scattering light
Carbon soot
PM10
Carbon chain
agglomerates
Crustal material
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Causes of Air Pollution
Emissions
Weather
Chemistry
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Air Pollution Trends – Daily
Ozone example
Ozone AQI on July 9, 2002
100
90
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
22
20
18
Time (LST)
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
Air Quality Index
80
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Air Pollution Trends – Yearly (1 of 2)
Temperature departure from normal vs. maximum AQI 2002
300
40
Temperature above normal
20
250
0
200
150
Temperature below normal
Unhealthy
-20
Unhealthy for SG
-40
Moderate
-60
AQI
100
50
-80
9/
25
9/
18
9/
11
9/
4
8/
28
8/
21
8/
14
8/
7
7/
31
7/
24
7/
17
7/
10
7/
3
6/
26
6/
19
6/
12
6/
5
5/
29
5/
22
5/
15
-100
5/
8
5/
1
0
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Air Pollution Trends – Yearly (2 of 2)
Temperature departure from normal vs. maximum AQI 2003
300
40
Temperature above normal
250
20
0
200
-20
Unhealthy
Temperature below normal
150
Unhealthy for SG
-40
Moderate
-60
AQI
100
50
-80
9/
25
9/
18
9/
11
9/
4
8/
28
8/
21
8/
14
8/
7
7/
31
7/
24
7/
17
7/
10
7/
3
6/
26
6/
19
6/
12
6/
5
5/
29
5/
22
5/
15
-100
5/
8
5/
1
0
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Air Pollution Trends – Long-Term
Long-term ozone trends in regions of California
Lowest concentration shown = 0.125 parts per million (ppm)
Source: US EPA’s Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS)
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Air Quality Index (1 of 3)
What is the Air Quality Index (AQI)?
– Standardized method to report air quality for
all criteria pollutants
– Uniform throughout the United States
– Based on health studies and EPA standards
– Ranges from 0 to 500
– Values over 100 are classified unhealthy
– Relates concentrations to health effects
Raw data
1-hr ozone
concentration
of 102 ppb
Standardization
8-hr ozone
concentration
estimate of 87 ppb
Health effects
Active children and adults,
and people with respiratory
disease, such as asthma,
should limit prolonged
outdoor exertion.
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Air Quality Index (2 of 3)
AQI provides information on
– Who is affected
– What is the significance
– What action people should take
– What messages to use for each pollutant
Descriptors
Cautionary Statement
Good
No message
0 – 50
Moderate 51 – 100
Unusually sensitive individuals
Unhealthy for Sensitive
Groups
101 - 150
Identifiable groups at risk - different groups
for different pollutants
Unhealthy
151 - 200
General public at risk; sensitive groups at
greater risk
Very Unhealthy
201 - 300
General public at greater risk; sensitive
groups at greatest risk
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Air Quality Index (3 of 3)
Resources:
– AQI slide rule – At-A-Glance messages
– AQI fact sheets on www.epa.gov/airnow
– AQI information in packets
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Information for Broadcasters
• Flow of information
• Products
– Data
– Forecasts
– News Stories
• How to get data
• AIRNow web site
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Information – Flow of Data
State and
Local
Agencies
Raw Data
Forecasts
EPA
AIRNow
Data
Education
Education
Requests and
Technical Problems
Weather
Service
Providers
Television
Stations
Data
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Information – Data Products (1 of 2)
• Ozone
– 1300+ monitors
– Hourly AQI maps on Web
– Gridded data (Grib)
– Distributed to weather
service providers (WSPs)
• Particle Pollution
– 400+ monitors
– Hourly AQI data
– Working on gridded maps
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Information – Data Products (2 of 2)
Animated and peak maps
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Information – Forecast Products
• Air Quality Forecasts
– 300 cities forecasting for ozone
– 150 cities forecasting for PM2.5
– Action days
• Distributed Network of Agencies
– 80 forecasting agencies
– AIRNow: centralized organization
• Various Methods
– Statistical
– Photochemical models (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], others)
– Experience
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Information – Special Products
AIRNow provides
– Consultation about air quality
– Air quality news stories and graphics
– Event coverage (wildfire and national outlooks)
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Information – How to Get Data
Available from:
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Information – AIRNow Web Site
AIRNow provides public
education and outreach
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–
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Data, forecasts, news stories
Health effects
Individual actions
Smog publications
www.epa.gov/airnow/publications/tvweather
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Health Effects and Actions
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Ozone Health Effects (1 of 3)
Ozone is linked to
• Aggravation of lung diseases
– Hospital admissions
– Doctor and emergency room visits
– Medication use
– School and work absences
• Permanent lung changes
And possibly to
• Development of asthma
• Premature mortality
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Ozone Health Effects (2 of 3)
• Symptoms
– Cough
– Sore or scratchy throat
– Pain with deep breath, or chest pain
– Fatigue
• Rapid onset
• Similar symptoms for people with
or without asthma
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Ozone Health Effects (3 of 3)
Respiratory Admissions
Respiratory Hospital Admissions by Daily
Maximum Ozone Level, Lagged One Day*
114
112
110
108
106
104
102
.01 .02 .03 .04 .05 .06 .07 .08 .09 .1
Ozone concentration (ppm)
*Burnett, R. T.; Dales, R. E.; Raizenne, M. E.; Krewski, D.; Summers, P. W.; Roberts, G. R.; Raad-Young, M.; Dann, T.;
Brook, J. (1994) Effects of low ambient levels of ozone and sulfates on the frequency of respiratory admissions to Ontario
hospitals. Environ. Res. 65: 172-194.
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Particle Pollution Health Effects (1 of 3)
Particles are linked to
• Premature death from heart and lung diseases
• Aggravation of heart and lung diseases
–
–
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–
Hospital admissions
Doctor and emergency room visits
Medication use
School and work absences
And possibly to
• Lung cancer deaths
• Infant mortality
• Developmental problems, such as low birth weight in
babies or slower lung growth in children
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Particle Pollution Health Effects (2 of 3)
Respiratory system effects
– Respiratory symptoms – irritation of
airways, cough, phlegm
– Decreased lung function
– Airway inflammation
– Asthma attacks, bronchitis
– Chronic bronchitis
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Particle Pollution Health Effects (3 of 3)
Cardiovascular system effects
– Changes in heart rate and heart
rate variability
– Blood component changes
– Cardiac arrhythmias
– Heart attacks
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Health Effects: Who is at Risk?
• People with heart or lung
disease
– Greater deposition with Chronic
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
(COPD)
• Older adults
– Greater prevalence of heart and
lung disease
• Children
– More likely to be active
– Breathe more air per pound
– Bodies still developing
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Actions: What You Can Do
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Overview of Actions (1 of 2)
• Transportation
– Carpool or use public transportation
– Refuel after dusk, limit idling
– Combine errands, limit trips
– Keep vehicles tuned
• At home
– Mow the lawn another day
– Lower thermostats, conserve energy
– Shop for ENERGY STAR products
– Recycle
• http://www.epa.gov/air/actions/index.html
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Overview of Actions (2 of 2)
Health
– Check AQI maps/forecasts
– Reduce exposure on high AQ days
– Exercise during times with lower AQ levels
– Talk to your physician if you
are in an at-risk group
– Become “Air Aware”
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Summary
“Millions of people tune in every morning and every night to
listen to the weather forecast. As such, it is a perfect time to make
the connection between the weather and the environment and how
it directly affects people’s lives…
In a way, broadcast meteorologists serve as America’s Science
Ambassadors. Thanks to your work over the last decade, words
like “ozone”, “UV index,” and other environmental concepts are
well understood by the American Public. We know from our focus
groups that the American public trusts you as a source of credible
information.”
-- Christine Todd Whitman,
then EPA Administrator
June 26, 2002
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