Air Quality Monitoring

"Ambient air" is the outside air that we all breathe. This term is specifically defined by the EPA as "that portion of the atmosphere, external to buildings, to which the general public has access."

In the early 1970s, the EPA listed six major air pollutants that affected the quality of ambient air and established concentration limits for these pollutants. These limits are known as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Primary limits or standards were established to protect human health and secondary standards were established to protect human welfare and the quality of life. Through the years, the NAAQS have been revised and amended to account for evolving scientific understanding of air pollution and its impacts. Currently, the six criteria pollutants are:

  • Ozone (O3)
  • Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10)
  • Carbon Monoxide (CO)
  • Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
  • Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
  • Lead (Pb)

These six pollutants can cause serious human health problems (including premature mortality) and damage the environment and property. Common sources of these pollutants are coal-fired power plants, industrial manufacturing sources, and on-road and off-road vehicles. The national standards can be viewed online at the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) page. The North Carolina state standards can be viewed online at the N.C. Ambient Air Quality Standards page.

In addition to the criteria pollutants, the N.C. Division of Air Quality (DAQ) monitors a variety of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs). DAQ operates the urban air toxics (UAT) monitoring network in conjunction with the national program (National Air Toxics Trends Station, NATTS), originally proposed and designed by the U.S. EPA in 1999. The UAT monitoring network was started as part of the EPA's effort to address toxic air pollutant emissions in urban areas.

North Carolina Monitoring Data

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) has partnered with the North Carolina State Climate Office to develop a new air quality tool, the Ambient Information Reporter (AIR). The new AIR tool contains statewide weather and air quality observations about past, current, and forecast air quality events.

Access the AIR Tool 

Additional air quality data sources: 

Consumer Air Sensors

Have questions about low-cost air sensors? See our FAQ here.

Contacts

Patrick Butler, P.E.
Ambient Monitoring Chief
Phone 919-707-8719
 

Jeremy Pope
Projects and Procedures Branch Supervisor
Phone 919-707-8449


Steven Walters
Laboratory Analysis Branch Supervisor
Phone 984-389-4159


Derrick House
Electronics and Calibrations Branch Supervisor
Phone 919-715-1761
 

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