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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.


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