PM Standards Review Schedule

This page reviewed November 24, 2009

On Thursday, June 5, 2003, the Office of Administrative Law approved the amendments to the regulations for the State Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter (PM) and sulfates. The Staff of the Air Resources Board (ARB) and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) reviewed the scientific literature regarding the health effects and exposure to PM. The conclusion of that review was the development of a staff report containing recommendations for revising the current ambient air quality standards for PM10 (particulate matter 10 micrometers in diameter and smaller). On May 3, 2002, ARB staff released a final staff report which recommends lowering the level of the annual standard for PM10 and establishes a new annual standard for PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller). The report also recommends changing the monitoring methods for the PM10 and sulfates standards. ARB staff presented their final recommendations to amend the PM standards to the Air Resources Board on June 20, 2002 [view the press release]. The new standards became effective on July 5, 2003.

Listed below are the milestones of the PM and Sulfates Standards review. Staff recommendations and their basis were
peer-reviewed by the University of California appointed Air Quality Advisory Committee on January 23 and 24 and April 3, 2002. All meeting and workshop notices are posted below.

This work follows a preliminary evaluation of all health-based ambient air quality standards in December 2000 to determine their adequacy to protect public health, particularly that of infants and children. Staffs of the ARB and OEHHA concluded in the December 2000 report that significant harmful health effects may occur among both children and adults when outdoor PM10 concentrations are at or near the current State standards. The health-based standards evaluation was a requirement of The Children's Environmental Health Protection Act (Senate Bill 25, Escutia, 1999).

Schedule

June 28, 2001	*Informational Item to the Air Resources Board Regarding Review of the Particulate Matter Standards (Board Presentations):*
	PM Summary for Board Presentations (PDF - 87KB) 6-28-01 PM Health Presentation (PDF - 636KB) 6-28-01 Greenbaum, HEI, PM Health (PDF - 309KB)
November 30, 2001	*The Public Release of the Report to the Air Quality Advisory Committee on the Review of the California Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter and Sulfates*
	November 30, 2001 PM standards DRAFT Report!
December 2001	*Public workshops were held to discuss the PM staff report to the Air Quality Advisory Committee. Dates, times and locations for upcoming workshops are included in the workshop notice below:*
	Workshop schedule Workshop presentation
*January 23 and 24, 2002*	*Air Quality Advisory Committee (AQAC) Peer reviewed PM staff report.*
	AQAC Meeting Summary Information
*March 2002*	Draft PM2.5 24-hour standard recommendation to AQAC to be released to the public.
	March 12, 2002, DRAFT 24-hour PM 2.5 Proposal.
*April 3, 2002*	*Second AQAC meeting to review staff proposal for a 24-hour PM2.5 standard.*
	AQAC Meeting Summary Information
*May 3, 2002*	*Final Staff Report and Recommendations to Amend the Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter and Sulfates*
	Staff Report Entitled "Public Hearing to Consider Amendments to the Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter and Sulfates"
*June 5 and 6, 2002*	*Public workshops to discuss the final PM staff report - scheduled for June 5 and 6, 2002 in Sacramento and El Monte.*
	Workshop schedule and presentations.
*June 20, 2002*	*Air Resources Board adopts staff recommendations for revising Particulate Matter standards.*
	Board Meeting Summary and Information Deferment of 24-Hour-Average PM2.5 Standard
*August 15, 2002*	15-Day Review of "Notice of Public Availability of Modified Text for Ambient Air Quality Standards for Suspended Particulate Matter and Sulfates"
*October 10, 2002*	15-Day Review of "Second Notice of Public Availability of Modified Text for Ambient Air Quality Standards for Suspended Particulate Matter and Sulfate"
*June 5, 2003*	New ambient air quality standards for PM10 and PM2.5 take effect in California.
	Office of Administrative Law approval of the amendments to the regulations for the State Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM and sulfates.
*May 22, 2008*	Draft staff report released on a revised methodology for quantifying the number of premature deaths associated with PM2.5 exposure.
*October 24, 2008*	Final staff report released on a revised methodology for quantifying the number of premature deaths associated with PM2.5 exposure.

For more information on review of the PM ambient air quality standards, please contact
Dr. Linda Smith at (916) 327-8225.