Recent Additions

. . . A summary of AirData significant events

December 17, 2008

Nonattainment maps updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment with respect to national air quality standards as of June 2, 2008. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

November 4, 2008

Emissions data updated
Criteria air pollutant and hazardous air pollutant emissions have been updated to include data for year 2002. The database status page lists the years for which emissions data are available.

June 3, 2008

December 21, 2007

Nonattainment maps updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment with respect to national air quality standards as of December 20, 2007. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

October 11, 2007

Nonattainment maps updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment with respect to national air quality standards as of October 10, 2007. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

June 28, 2007

Nonattainment maps updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment with respect to national air quality standards as of June 20, 2007. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

April 6 , 2007

Nonattainment maps updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment with respect to national air quality standards as of March 30, 2007. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

January 5 , 2007

Nonattainment maps updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment with respect to national air quality standards as of December 5, 2006. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

March 15 , 2006

Nonattainment maps updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment with respect to national air quality standards as of March 3, 2006. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

January 5 , 2006

Emissions data updated
Criteria air pollutant emissions have been updated to the final version of the 1999 National Emissions Inventory. The database status page lists the years for which emissions data are available.

April 18, 2005

Nonattainment maps updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment with respect to national air quality standards as of April 11, 2005. This update adds nonattainment maps for pollutant PM2.5 - particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

December 16, 2004

Sample reports added
A picture of each report and map is now included in its help page, to complement the description. We reorganized the list of available reports and maps, and added pictures there, too (in a pop-up browser window).

Report name changes
We renamed some reports and maps to describe more aptly the kind of data they present.

Old name	New name
Air Quality Index Summary report	Air Quality Index report
Monitor Summary report, map	County Air Quality report, map
Tier Emissions report	Emissions by Category report
Emissions Summary map	Facility Emissions map
Emissions Distribution map	County Emissions map
Emissions Summary report (HAPs)	County Emissions report

December 10, 2004

Nonattainment maps updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment as of November 29, 2004. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

September 30, 2004

Nonattainment maps updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment as of September 27, 2004. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

August 5 , 2004

Nonattainment maps updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment as of August 3, 2004. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

June 25 , 2004

Monitor Summary Map added
Like the Monitor Summary report, this map shows you which counties conducted monitoring for a particular air pollutant, and whether the peak concentration was above or below the pertinent air quality standard. In addition, the map can show how many days per year a county's Air Quality Index indicated unhealthful pollutant levels. See the help page for details.

June 9, 2004

Nonattainment maps updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment as of May 17, 2004, including designations for 8-hour ozone. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

March 25, 2004

HAP monitoring data added
Two new reports and a map provide access to annual summaries of air monitoring data for hazardous air pollutants (HAPs).

March 9, 2004

PM10 standard corrected
For about a year, AirData reports of air monitoring data inadvertently used an incorrect definition of the 24-hour air quality standard for coarse particulate matter (PM10). The incorrect standard, 99-th percentile of daily PM10 concentrations, was set by EPA in 1997 and vacated by a federal court in 1999. EPA reverted to the pre-existing form of the PM10 standard: the estimated number of exceedances per year. AirData reports have been changed to display the correct standard.

February 11, 2004

CMSA geographic area, more counties
Consolidated metropolitan statistical area (CMSA) is now available as a geographic area choice. You may "amend" a CMSA or MSA geographic selection by adding surrounding counties or omitting counties within the metropolitan area. (This step is required for a CMSA, optional for an MSA.) The help page explains how to add or drop counties.

You may select up to 50 counties for a report or map when choosing from a list of county names. A 10-county limit applies if you select counties using the geographic selection map.

February 4, 2004

AQI Summary Chart Added
Two chart styles are available for displaying Air Quality Index data: summary and daily. The new summary chart style illustrates how many days were in each health category, how many days each pollutant was primary, and the percentile distribution of daily values. The daily chart style shows AQI value and primary pollutant for each day.

And now it is easier than ever to produce a chart. Each row of the AQI summary report includes a link to an AQI chart of the same data. One mouse click is all it takes.

February 2, 2004

Emissions Density Map Added
The Emissions Distribution map has a new option to display emissions density - county emissions of criteria air pollutants divided by county land area. Ranges of emissions amount and density, indicated by map shading, are based on national percentiles for the pollutant, year, and source type selected. See the help page for details.

January 15, 2004

Nonattainment Maps Updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment as of January 6, 2004. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

September 10, 2003

Nonattainment Maps Updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment as of August 27, 2003. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

June 24, 2003

Nonattainment Maps Updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment as of June 23, 2003. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

June 4, 2003

Air Quality Index Added
A new report and chart of Air Quality Index (AQI) data are now available, replacing the former report and chart of Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) data. AQI and PSI are similar scales of ambient air pollutant concentration that indicate the relative potential for adverse health effects. AQI replaced PSI as EPA's standard way of reporting day-to-day air quality.

The AirData report presents annual summaries of AQI values for counties or MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas). The AirData chart displays daily AQI values for a single county or MSA. The report is good for comparing many different areas, and the chart is good for seeing details for a selected area.

May 6, 2003

County Changes
We incorporated changes in FIPS county definitions that have taken place in the last few years. Dade County, Florida, became Miami-Dade County, and its FIPS code changed from 12025 to 12086. The portion of Yellowstone National Park in Montana and the cities of Clifton Forge and South Boston, Virginia, ceased to be county equivalents and were absorbed into other counties. The FIPS code for Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, changed from 29193 to 29186. (FIPS is the acronym for Federal Information Processing Standards, which defines codes used in most U.S. government information systems.)

April 11, 2003

Additional Air Monitoring Pollutants
Reports and maps of air monitoring data now include particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) and 8-hour average ozone concentrations. These additions reflect the changes in EPA's national air quality standards which were implemented in 2002, upon final resolution of legal challenges.

More Years of Monitoring Data
Eleven years of air monitoring data are available, rather than six.

New Descriptive Information About Monitors
The Monitor Values and Monitor Count reports may optionally include more columns that describe air monitors. These optional report columns, listed at the bottom of report selection criteria pages, include monitor type and objective, accuracy of latitude-longitude coordinates, and several geographic codes. The new items are displayed by the View Data function of AirData maps, as well.

Better Exceedance Highlighting
Reports of monitoring data highlight the specific values that exceed EPA air quality standards. Previously, entire report rows were highlighted, and it could be difficult to identify the exceeding value(s).

County Code in Emissions Reports
FIPS county code is now available in reports of emissions data. This optional report column makes it easier to compare or combine AirData reports with other emissions data.

February 20, 2003

Nonattainment Maps Updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment as of February 2003. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

January 21, 2003

Multiple Selections Capability
Now you may choose multiple geographic areas, pollutants, and other criteria when generating most AirData reports and maps. This new capability gives you more flexibility. For example, you could produce a report for a cluster of counties surrounding a city of interest, even if the counties are in different states. A new help page explains how to select multiple geographic areas.

We eliminated the All Columns report of air monitoring data (the Monitor Values report with multiple pollutant selections provides equivalent results) and ready-to-view maps.

Nonattainment Maps Updated
The revised maps show counties that were designated nonattainment as of November 2002. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

June 27, 2002

Standard Page Format
AirData Web pages have the EPA-standard layout and text styles. This change does not affect the content of reports and maps.

May 29, 2002

Nonattainment maps updated. The revised maps show which counties were designated nonattainment as of May 2002. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

April 2, 2002

Tool tips added to maps
Place your mouse pointer on items shown in AIRData maps and get detailed information in a pop-up "tool tip." This new feature allows you to identify individual air pollution sources or monitoring sites, and shows county names, too. Tool tips are available in zoom-able maps (the default), which are displayed by a Java applet. Maps displayed as standard GIF images do not have the tool tips feature.

February 6, 2002

AIRGraphics and AIRData websites combined.
These two separate websites presented the same air pollution data in different formats: maps and tabular reports. We have merged them to make it easier for you to choose the viewing format the suits you best.

October 5, 2001

National Emission Trends (NET) data were updated to include the latest changes and additions for years 1996 and 1999.

October 2, 2001

Nonattainment maps updated. The revised maps show which counties were designated nonattainment as of August 2001. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas

September 12, 2001

National Toxics Inventory (NTI) data were updated to include the latest changes and additions for year 1996.

March 28, 2001

Website renamed AIRData.
Originally, the AIRS database was the sole source of data for this website, and its name -- AIRSWeb then AIRSData -- reflected that association. Now the website includes air pollutant emissions data from two other EPA databases, National Emission Trends (NET) and National Toxics Inventory (NTI), in addition to air pollutant monitoring data from AIRS. Our new name, AIRData, reflects the broader base and scope of our air data.

February 20, 2001

AIRS source reports removed from the AIRSData website.
The EPA has ceased tracking air pollutant emissions with the AIRS database, and now uses the National Emission Trends (NET) database. AIRSData NET source reports give you access to EPA's criteria air pollutant emissions data.

January 12, 2001

Hazardous air pollutant emissions data available.
Four new NTI reports list annual emissions of hazardous air pollutants, also called "toxic air pollutants" or "air toxics." The Clean Air Act gives EPA responsibility for establishing emission standards for 188 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), substances known or suspected to cause serious health problems. EPA compiled the first national inventory of HAP emissions for year 1996, and created a National Toxics Inventory (NTI) database. The emissions inventory will be updated every three years (1999, 2002, ...). AIRSData NTI reports include 1996 emissions of 181 HAPs for individual point sources, and county aggregate 1996 emissions from point, mobile, and area sources. More information about HAPs and source types is available at the Air Toxics Website.

Access limitations removed.
Database server software that processes AIRSData reports was upgraded to a newer version. We no longer need to use a nonstandard port number in URLs that access the database server. This change will remove an obstacle faced by people who access the Internet through a firewall. Most firewalls blocked AIRSData report requests because they included a nonstandard port number.

September 1, 2000

The National Emissions Trends database (NET) has now replaced AFS as the official repository for emission inventory data from point sources.

August 18, 2000

More National Emissions Trends (NET) data available. County-level aggregate emissions estimates for years 1997 and 1998 were added to the Tier report, augmenting the 1985-1996 data previously available. NET point source emissions estimates are available for a single year, 1996, but reports now include all NET point sources rather than major sources only.

June 21, 2000

Nonattainment maps updated. The revised maps show which counties were designated nonattainment as of June 2000. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

February 2, 2000

NET - National Emissions Trends data available. AIRSData has four new source reports based on the National Emission Trends (NET) database, a national inventory developed annually by EPA of criteria pollutant emissions. (Criteria pollutants are ones for which EPA has set health-based standards). NET data includes emissions estimates for large stationary sources (also known as point sources), small stationary sources (also known as area sources), and mobile sources. The NET has separate emissions estimates for each individual point source, and county-level aggregate emissions estimates for area and mobile sources. AIRSData has NET point source emissions estimates for one year, 1996; and county aggregate emissions estimates for years 1985 - 1996.

July 6, 1999

1999 air monitoring data available. Every July, we advance AIRSData's six-year "window" of air monitoring data. Why July? EPA requires the states to submit their monitoring data for the first calendar quarter (Jan.-Mar.) by the end of the second quarter (June 30). Most states submit their monitoring data far in advance of that schedule, but July is the first month the data are required to be in AIRS. As you review AIRSData Monitor Reports, be aware that the 1999 summary values are based on only three to six months of air monitoring data.

March 19, 1999

Nonattainment maps updated. The revised maps show which counties were designated nonattainment as of March 1999. These designations do not reflect the July 1997 revisions of ambient air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter. EPA will designate nonattainment areas for those revised standards beginning in 2000. The "Green Book" website has detailed information about nonattainment areas.

February 15, 1999

Monitor Summary Report added. The new report displays air pollution values related to national standards for air quality. This report includes pertinent values for all six criteria pollutants, similar to the "Maximum Concentrations by County" data table in Appendix A of EPA's annual Air Quality Trends Report.

January 26, 1999

Added All Columns Report for Sources and Monitors. The new reports are primarily for exporting data; they include all AIRSData columns.

October 26, 1998

AIRSData is the new name for AIRSWeb. The reports and capabilities are the same, but the new name better indicates the purpose -- providing air pollution data on the web.

October 20, 1998

All Pollutants choice added to Source reports and the Monitor Address report. Now a single Source report can include the estimated emissions of all criteria pollutants from each source. The enhanced Monitor Address report lets you see the locations of all monitoring sites, regardless of which pollutants are measured at each site. Of course, you still can select a single pollutant, as well.

Report sorting improved. Now missing values (blanks) are sorted lower than any other values. Formerly, blanks sorted higher, and it was difficult to find the largest "real" values if there were many blanks in the report column you sorted. This is no longer a problem.

August 25, 1998

Help pages added for all reports. The info symbol leads to descriptions of report selection criteria and report content. When a report is displayed, each column heading links to an explanation of that column.

Latitude / longitude coordinates added to Monitor Address and Source Address reports. Coordinates are displayed in decimal degrees.

July 27, 1998

Improved format for the contacts list. All contacts for a particular regional, state, or local agency are grouped together.

July 14, 1998

Enhanced sorting capabilities for reports. Every report column has two "sort buttons" under the column heading. Clicking on a button sorts the report in ascending or descending order of values in the column.

July 6, 1998

Monitor Values report replaces Monitor Ranking report. The new name more aptly describes the report, since it is not possible to rank the air quality of geographic areas using the report.

June 25, 1998

Date of last monthly update added to AIRSWeb main page. A new page lists the scheduled dates of monthly updates for the rest of 1998.

April 21, 1998

Monitor PSI report added. The new report shows Pollutant Standards Index annual summary values by county. The values include percent of year when air quality was good, moderate, and unhealthful.

April 10, 1998

County selection added. This improvement gives you the ability to generate any AIRSWeb report for a single county or several counties. The previous geographic choices -- a state, an EPA region, or all states -- are still available, too.

February 10, 1998

Data export added. The values displayed in any AIRSWeb report can be saved in a text file on your PC. Then you can load AIRSWeb data into a spreadsheet or database for further analysis. Both tab-delimited and comma-delimited data export formats are provided.

October 22, 1997

Hello world ! AIRSWeb makes its debut.