PAMS Publications/Papers/Reports

List of Available Documents:

Analysis of Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Station (PAMS) Data to Evaluate a Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) Effect(PDF 527k) - April 1998

EPA's Office of Mobile Sources commissioned a contractor to look at PAMS data to investigate if changes in ambient VOC levels were related to the introduction of reformulated gas in 1995. The report concluded that there is a . strong case' that a reduction in ambient benzene was related to the reduction of benzene in fuel and that other species, such as aromatics, may also have been significantly reduced. These findings are consistent with observations in EPA's "National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Reports" for both 1995 and 1996.

1996 Data Analysis Results Report - October 1996

This report is a compilation of analytic examples illustrating the uses of PAMS data. Chapters include: Characterization of Ambient Air Quality for Ozone and Its Precursors; PAMS Data in Support of Ozone Modeling Applications; Evaluation of Emission Factors, Models and Inventories with PAMS Data; Observational Based Methods for Determining VOC/NOX Effectiveness; and Quality Assurance.

Emissions Trends Report: Latest report

This annual publication summarizes long-term trends (since 1900!) in emissions of air pollutants and gives in-depth analysis of emissions for the current year.

Evaluating Exposures to Toxic Air Pollutants: A Citizen's Guide - March 1991

Toxic air pollutants can increase the chance of health problems and cause ecological impacts. This brochure from EPA's Air Risk Center discusses the process used to determine how much of a toxic air pollutant people are exposed to and how many people are exposed.

The Green Book (updated continuously)

Extensive information about nonattainment areas and National Ambient Air Quality Standards for the six criteria pollutants.

Air Quality Trends Report:Latest Trends Report, Past Annual Reports

This annual publication describes trends in the ambient levels of air pollutants during the past ten years and assesses the current status of our nation's air quality. Each report contains a chapter that deals specifically with PAMS.

Ozone - Good Up High Bad Nearby - June 2003

Ozone acts as a protective layer high above the earth, but it can be harmful to breathe. This publication provides basic information about ground-level and high-altitude ozone.

PAMSGRAMs

PAMSGRAMs are FAXED notices for State and Local air pollution control agencies which highlight issues meriting attention by the PAMS monitoring staff. (The individual PAMSGRAM files are available here in Adobe Acrobat® format. To view the notices, use the free Acrobat Reader software available from the EPA's About Adobe page.

Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS) Performance Evaluation Program (PDF 636k) - Final Report. June 1997.

In addition to the National Performance Audit Program (NPAP) for PAMS, a Performance Evaluation (PE) Study was performed during the 1995 PAMS season. The PE study goals were to estimate the bias and precision from the results using a laboratory-prepared VOC standard and provide rapid feedback to PAMS in order to resolve analytical issues in a timely manner. This report provides the results, conclusions and recommendations from the PE study.

Risk Assessment for Toxic Air Pollutants: A Citizen's Guide - March 1991

Risk assessment is the process used to estimate the risk of illness from a specific human exposure to a toxic air pollutant. This brochure from EPA's Air Risk Center gives an overview of the 4-step assessment process.

Summer 1997 in Perspective (471K pdf file)-November 1997

This report assesses the severity of the summer 1997 ozone season to provide an historical (climatological) perspective. It also identifies and documents the meteorological conditions associated with high ozone events during the summer.