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carpa -- Revisions to the AQI will impact the upcoming wildfire season.
Posted: 14 Mar 2013 17:31:01
In December 2012, US EPA released its final revisions to the Air Quality Index (AQI). These changes will affect public messaging for the 2013 wildfire season. With revised breakpoints, the AQI is now more protective of public health. All air quality ranges from "Good" to "Unhealthy" reflect reduced 24-hr averages of respirable particulate matter. It is important for our response partners to note the changes in the 24-hr values and be prepared to update smoke impact messaging as we enter the 2013 wildfire season. To help prepare, the California Air Response Planning Alliance (CARPA) developed a table reflecting the new AQI breakpoints. This table is to be used in conjunction with the 2008 Wildfire Smoke Guide and reflects changes to the 24-hr averages found in Table 3 (pg. 31). The 1-3 hr and 8-hr averages remain the same at this time. However, we anticipate an update to the Wildfire Smoke Guide in 2014. The revised table and detailed breakpoints are available at http://www.arb.ca.gov/carpa. The real-time reporting of particulate data from AirNow (www.airnow.gov) will reflect the new AQI as of Monday, March 18, 2013. If you have any questions, please email carpa@arb.ca.gov. ____________________________________________________________ The California Air Response Planning Alliance (CARPA) was formed in 2006 by the California Air Resources Board, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Governor's Office of Emergency Services. CARPA's mission is to provide actionable incident response information to protect public health and the environment from the impacts of accident or deliberate releases of hazardous compounds into the air.