Air quality can be a complex topic to approach. This page contains resources that help break down this complexity and offer a foundational understanding of air pollution, from it’s from, to how to measure it, to how it affects human health.
Introductory
Foundations of Air Quality: An introductory guide to understanding air quality. Sections include:
- Emissions: Summary of where air pollution is from and how it is regulated and inventoried.
- Pollutants: Understanding outdoor and indoor pollutants, units of measurements, and the Air Quality Index.
- Measurements: Overview of how air quality measurements are made, including how measurement systems work, pollutant detection methods, measurement time/duration, and useful concepts in measurement
- Health Effects: General overview of the health effects of air pollution, including particulate patter and ozone
- Air Quality Improvement Methods: How air pollution regulation helps reduce emissions.
External Resources
How air pollution can harm your health and the environment, and what the US EPA is doing to protect the air we breathe.
Brief history of air quality in the US and the EPA’s role in monitoring and regulating it.
Description of how the air quality index works and how to read/interpret it.
Definitions of air pollution terms, including California-specific air quality programs and rules.
