February 2004
ONLINE AIR POLLUTION DATABASES: GOVERNMENTAL
DATABASES
As
the primary regulator of air quality and emissions, the
United States Environmental Protection Agency is the most
important source of official air pollution data. Their data
is maintained in several different online, searchable, databases.
There are two sites that pull together data
from several of these databases. These sites also provide
useful presentation tools. We list EPA resources in alphabetical
order. You might want to take a minute to review all the
possibilities before you get started.
TIP: If you are pressed for time, use one
of the first two sites, or one of the non-governmental sites,
that pull information from many sources. If you have the
time, use as many sources as you can to make a complete
picture.
Remember there is no single 'correct' way
to use the database. Because EPA online sites can pull from
several databases, you may find yourself accessing the same
data from different places.
AirData
(http://www.epa.gov/air/data/)
AirDATA's primary purpose is to present air pollution in
map and report formats (click on "Reports and Maps"
link). Indeed, the appeal is in its versatile customized
presentation capacity: choose from a number of criteria
combinations to format it in a color map, graph, tables,
or a report. You can also download the result into your
computer.
The data is drawn from two EPA air pollution
databases, the National Emissions inventory (NEI) and Air
Quality Subsystems (AQS). Before the most recent data collected
from monitoring stations and state agencies are analyzed
and incorporated into AirData, they are made available as
crude data via its "Monitoring Data Queries" feature.
Note, however, that this query section is intended for those
with some familiarity with ambient air quality monitoring
and with air quality monitoring data.
Air
Facility System (AFS)/(AIRS) (http://www.epa.gov/Compliance/planning/data/air/afssystem.html)
The Air Facility System (AFS) contains compliance and permit
data for stationary sources regulated by the U.S. EPA and
state and local air pollution agencies. AFS is used by some
state and local government agencies to track permit data.
It's easiest to draw on AFS data through the "Air"
section of the EnviroFacts Data Warehouse (see above). AFS
was once a part of AIRS, a previous EPA database, so the
historical utilization of that term may be incorporated
within referenced documentation.
Air
Quality Index (AQI) AIRNow (http://www.epa.gov/airnow/)
Provides real time reporting and next day forecasting of
Air Quality Index conditions for over 275 cities. Also has
links to more detailed State and local air quality websites.
EPA calculates the AQI based on five major air pollutants:
ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate
matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
Because it is real time, and not "fully verified or
validated," information on the AIRNow web site is not
used to formulate or support regulation, guidance or any
other Agency decision or position.
EnviroFacts
(http://oaspub.epa.gov/enviro/ef_home2.air)
Envirofacts page provides a single point of access to data
extracted from seven major EPA databases (Toxic Release
Inventory, Superfund, hazardous waste, water, air releases,
etc.)
Environmental
Justice Geographic Assessment Tool (http://www.epa.gov/enviro/ej/)
You can set the geographical criteria or specify a facility,
and the results contain many links you can jump to for more
detail. The result page consists of four sections: The zoom-in
and zoom-out feature is apparently one of its selling point,
but it is not as wieldy as the Window To My Environment
or AirData mapping tools.
LandView
III Data Mapping Software (http://www.rtknet.org/landview/)
LandView III is a Windows-based mapping program developed
by the Bureau of the Census that contains information about
EPA-regulated sites, US Census demographic data, and street-level
maps. Landview III runs on Microsoft Windows 3.1/95/98/NT
personal computers. It is freely distributed by RTKNET.
You can download the map for one county at a time directly
from the link; simply follow the instructions on the page.
National
Air Toxics Assessment (http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/nata/index.html)
This website presents the results of EPA's national scale
assessment of air toxics in 1996. It is based on emissions
data from 32 toxics, plus diesel particulate matter [for
a full list of air toxics click here]. You can get air toxics
data presented in various formats (color maps, charts &
tables and summaries), for geographic levels of country,
state, and/or county. Includes a tool to extract data either
by a specific chemical, or location.
Toxics
Release Inventory (TRI) (http://www.epa.gov/tri/)
Every year, major U.S. industrial facilities are required
to report on releases and waste management of chemicals
to the EPA. This data is maintained in the Toxics Release
Inventory. The TRI was established by the Emergency Planning
and Community Right to Know Act in 1986, following two major
chemical releases, one of which killed thousands of people
(Bhopal, India).
TRI is the most comprehensive source of information
on toxic chemical releases in the United States.
Limitations of TRI data:
• Self-reported by industry:
The data is self-reported by the facilities. Some of this
is based on internal monitoring systems, some of it is based
on estimations.
• Incomplete coverage:
Not all chemicals are covered. Not all industrial facilities
are required to report their releases. Smaller facilities
are not required to report, nor are those outside of a list
of industrial categories. Nearly 20,000 industrial facilities
reported in 2001.
• No information on health impacts:
TRI does not provide information about the potential health
impacts of chemical releases, or how many people may have
been exposed.
• Little information on storage:
TRI does not provide only limited and very general information
on storage of chemicals.
• No action: TRI does not
require any action based on the data provided.
Window
to My Environment (http://www.epa.gov/enviro/wme/)
Provides interactive maps and other tools to find out about
the condition of the land, air and water in your community.
Also has links to activities and programs addressing local
environmental issues. If you want to get a visual sense
of your community's overall environmental condition, not
tied to details and toxic data of any particular facility,
this is a great place to start, and relatively easy to navigate.
REGIONAL & LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL SOURCES
(not necessarily on-line)
EPA
Regional Offices (http://www.epa.gov/epahome/whereyoulive.htm#regiontext)
Scroll to the bottom to find your regional office.
Your EPA regional office is full of folks
that have quick answers (best not to rely on them for complicated
support by phone). Each regional office has an 1) information
management specialist, 2) database administrator, 3) air
program head, and 4) air division inventory technical support
staff who can help you.
EPA also has a list of useful issue toll-free
hotlines and email addresses: http://www.epa.gov/epahome/hotline.htm
State
and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators and
the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officers
(http://www.cleanairworld.org/scripts/us_temp.asp?id=307)
Provides links and contact information for state air pollution
officials. Data collected and maintained at the state level
varies.
County or City Environmental Health Departments
See if your city or county has an Environmental Health Department.
In Oakland (Alameda County), the County Environmental Health
Department oversees some contaminated soil and groundwater
site cleanups, and maintains a database, including GIS data.
They do not have this information on their website, but
will respond to written requests to review information for
specific sites.
Local Fire Department, Hazardous Materials
Response Planning
The Oakland Fire Department, Hazardous Materials Program
inspects businesses that handle or store hazardous (including
toxic) materials and hazardous waste for compliance with
state law. Local business and manufacturing facilities that
have significant amounts of hazardous materials are required
(by states law) to prepare a written report for the local
fire department, and also make available to the public,
listing the hazardous materials they have stored on-site.
The Oakland Hazardous Materials Program, for example, has
information on sites with underground fuel storage tanks,
and above ground storage of chemicals. The HazMat Response
Unit also has records of emergency responses involving hazardous
materials and waste.
California-Specific
California
Air Resources Board (http://www.arb.ca.gov/homepage.htm)
The California Air Resources Board collects data on criteria
air pollutants and toxics, by facility and summarized.
