Transcript Revised ~ Communicating Air Quality to the Public

Communicating air quality trade-offs
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Module 6. Communicating
Air Quality to the Public in
the Mid-Atlantic United States
by K.G. Paterson, Ph.D., P.E. ©2007
www.mtu.edu
Did You Know?
Average number of bad air days
 For the counties of the Mid-Atlantic states (DC, DE,
NJ, MD, PA, VA, WV) there were, on average, about
4 days in 2005 with air quality designated
unhealthy*….down from 8 days in 2000.**
9
J
J
8
J
J
7
J
6
5
4
3
2000
J
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
* Total of AQI categories unhealthy for sensitive individuals and unhealthy
** Based on three-year moving averages
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Course Goals
By the end of this session, you will be able
to
 Know how the public is informed about air quality in
the Mid-Atlantic U.S.
 Define the AQI
 Know where to find current and forecasted air quality
conditions for your community
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Theory: AQI
AQI = Air Quality Index
Allows easy communication of the air quality
condition
• Developed to translate the real state of air quality
into a relative state via an index
Uses:
• Current conditions
• Forecasted conditions
Range: 0 to 500
Basis: criteria air pollutant measurements
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Theory: AQI
The number of air pollutants makes it
difficult to communicate the general
condition of air quality in a community.
One way through this problem is to use a
relative measure, or index, of air quality
that is dependent on real measurements of
the pollutants.
Advantages:
Many numbers become one
Easier to communicate and understand
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Theory: AQI
 AQI methodology
 Designed to communicate relative risk to public health from criteria
pollutants
 Criteria pollutant measurements used in the AQI estimation:
O3 8-hr, O3 1-hr, PM2.5, PM10, CO, SO2, NO2
 AQI above 100 means a criteria pollutant has exceeded its NAAQS
AQI Value
Level of Health Concern
When AQI is in this range:
…air quality conditions are:
0 - 50
Good
51 - 100
Moderate
101-150
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
151-200
Unhealthy
201-300
Very unhealthy
301-500
Hazardous
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Theory: AQI
 AQI methodology
 Daily concentrations of each criteria pollutant (except lead) at a
monitoring site are used to interpolate an AQI for that pollutant from
the table below
 Reported AQI is the highest of the individual pollutant AQIs
AQI
O3 8-hr
O3 1-hr
PM2.5
PM10
NO2
SO2
CO
0
0
--
0
0
--
0
0
50
64
--
15.4
54
--
34
4.4
100
84
125
40.4
154
--
144
9.4
200
124
204
150.4
254
0.65
304
15.4
300
374
404
250.4
424
1.24
604
30.4
400
504
0.504
350.4
504
1.64
804
40.4
500
--
604
500.4
604
2.04
1004
50.4
8
ppb
ppb
µg/m3
µg/m3
ppm
ppb
ppm
Application: AQI
 In the Mid-Atlantic U.S., AQI is usually set by ozone or
particulate. Both carry health implications at high AQI values.
Particulate
Ozone
AQI Value
Health Concern
AQI Value
Health Concern
0 - 50
None
0 - 50
None
51 - 100
Sensitive people should limit prolonged outdoor
exertion.
51 - 100
Sensitive people should limit prolonged outdoor
exertion.
101-150
Active children and adults, and those with
respiratory disease should limit prolonged
outdoor activity.
101-150
People with heart or lung disease, older adults,
and children should reduce prolonged outdoor
activity.
151-200
Active children and adults, and those with
respiratory disease should avoid prolonged
outdoor activity; everyone else should limit
prolonged outdoor activity.
151-200
People with heart or lung disease, older adults,
and children should avoid prolonged outdoor
activity. Everyone else should reduce prolonged
outdoor activity.
201-300
Active children and adults, and those with
respiratory disease should avoid all outdoor
activity; everyone else should limit outdoor activity.
201-300
People with heart or lung disease, older adults,
and children should avoid all outdoor activity.
Everyone else should avoid prolonged outdoor
activity.
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Theory: AQI Communication
State and local authorities are required to
report AQI to the public in any community
with 350,000 people or more.
If AQI exceeds 100, authorities will issue
statements targeting affected individuals
with suggested actions (Action Days)
AQI is routinely published through various
media outlets.
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Application: AQI Communication
Action Days
When AQI reaches (or predicted to reach) 100 or
more
Meant to trigger two types of action
• Protective measures that affected individuals should take
• Emission reduction measures that the public can take
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Analysis: AQI Communication
 Question: In the summer, the AQI often exceeds
100 in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. due to enhanced
ozone production. If an ozone Action Day is
issued, what are some ways that the public could
possibly reduce emissions that affect ozone levels?
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Application: AQI Communication
 Based on the state’s AQI
forecasts, EPA’s AirNow site is
the most comprehensive
source of regional AQI
information
www.airnow.gov
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Application: AQI Communication
State level authorities provide more local
AQI information.
Maryland Department
of Environment:
http://www.air-watch.net/
(also includes email alerts)
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Application: AQI Communication
Many newspapers are now reporting AQI
on the Weather Page
Many local TV news stations report AQI
during the Weather segment
Have you seen the AQI reported? Where?
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Theory: AQI Forecasting
 The state environmental regulatory agencies, NOAA
and U.S. EPA collaborate to produce AQI forecasts
with measurements and computer models
National Weather Service
Meteorological data
Today’s
weather
Weather forecast models
Prediction:
tomorrow’s
weather
Air quality models
State Environmental Agencies
Air quality
monitoring data
Today’s
air quality
Prediction:
tomorrow’s
air quality
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Theory: AQI Forecasting
 While current prediction capabilities focus on AQI,
planned capabilities include specific pollutants
Current air
quality alerts
10-year vision air
quality alerts
Provide
Next day warnings to Ozone and particulate
big cities
guidance
Public products
Daily AQI
Hourly predictions of air
pollutant concentrations
Coverage
~ 300 cities
Nationwide
Pollutants forecasted
AQI
Ozone and particulate
Forecast period
Next day, weekends
Two days and beyond
Spatial resolution
Community wide
2.5 km grid for entire U.S.
Temporal resolution
Daily
Hourly
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Application: AQI Forecasting
 Building to the 10-year vision
NOAA’s National Weather
Service currently can provide
ozone predictions for the
eastern U.S., twice daily at a
12.5 km resolution.
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Analysis: AQI
Question: The AQI is a useful public
communication tool, yet no index is perfect.
How could it be improved?
Action: In a small group, discuss some of
the weaknesses of the AQI and what it
would take to minimize them.
Time: 5-10 minutes
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Further Learning
 AirNow, the EPA’s website for current and forecasted
AQI, http://www.airnow.gov
 National Weather Service’s Air Quality Forecast site,
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/aq/
 A Guide to Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Quality,
Appendix A: Health Effects of Air Pollution, pp. A3-A5.
http://www.marama.org/reports/GuideMidAtlantic_RegAQ_Final.pdf
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