Sunday, March 26, 2017

Air Quality

“Less is more” can easily describe healthy air quality. The lower the number, the better the air quality. The lighter the color, the healthier the air. The healthiest air quality is the color green and it is labeled ‘Good’.  This AQI ranges from 0 to 50 and can be described as suitable with little or no air pollution. With growing numbers, the next healthy air quality is the color yellow with the label of ‘Moderate’. The range for ‘Moderate’ is 51 to 100 with a description of acceptable and can be uncomfortable to people who are not typically sensitive to the polluted air. The next group in the AQI is the orange group, ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups’. The numbers range from 101 to 150 and can be concerning for people who are sensitive to the air, but it is not a main issue for the healthy population. ‘Unhealthy’ is the next level of AQI and it is colored red. It ranges from 151 to 200 and can be affect everyone experiencing health issues, it no longer affects only the people who have sensitivity to the air. The 5th level of AQI is ‘Very Unhealthy’ and is now a dark pink color. Its level ranges from 201 to 300 and will affect the entire population and may even lead to emergency situations. The last AQI level is ‘Hazardous’ and is a brownish color. Ranging from 301 to 500, it will lead to everyone experiencing serious health issues. 
http://www.azdeq.gov/AQ


AQI forecasts are provided to people by their state or local areas. Cincinnati, the Cleveland area, Columbus, Dayton, and Youngstown all have their own, individual AQI. At 11:00, Cincinnati’s AQI was 39, which puts the city in the range of ‘Good’. Today and tomorrow’s high forecasts are almost the same ranging from 60 to 65, putting them in the ‘Moderate’ zone. The Cleveland area includes Cleveland, Akron, and Lorain. At 11:00, this area was at 60 putting it in the ‘Moderate’ zone. However, the forecast for today’s high and tomorrows high is in the range of ‘Good’. In Columbus at 11:00, the AQI was at 58. The forecast for both today and tomorrow is in the ‘Good’ zone, ranging from 50 to 46. At 11:00, Dayton was in the ‘Good’ zone and was at the number 32. The high for today and tomorrow are both ‘Moderate’ and range from 53 to 57. Also at 11:00, Youngstown was 55 putting it in the ‘Moderate’ zone. The highs for today and tomorrow are 50 and 46, keeping it in the ‘Good’ zone.
http://www.haleyaldrich.com/services-markets/planning-permitting-compliance/detail/id/129/air-quality

The State Implementation Plan (SIP) are plans that focus on states that do not have healthy air quality or their National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are not in the proper/ healthy zone. The current standard for Ozone is 0.070 ppm and was created in 2015. PM 2.5 current SIP is 12.0 μg/m3 and was made in 2012. Sulfur Dioxide’s SIP was based in 2015 and is 75 ppb. Nitrogen Dioxide made its standard in 2010 at 100 ppb. In 2008, the standard of lead was changed from 1.5 μg/m3 to .15 μg/m3.

http://www.haleyaldrich.com/services-markets/planning-permitting-compliance/detail/id/129/air-quality