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Air Quality Monitoring


The Port of Los Angeles is conducting an air quality monitoring program within its operational region of influence (ROI). This monitoring program supports the Port’s commitment to improve air quality within the San Pedro Bay Ports area under the Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), by helping to better manage and provide feedback on the Port’s air quality improvement efforts. The monitoring program includes a network of four air monitoring stations that measure a comprehensive set of air pollutants within the ROI.

About the Program

The air quality monitoring stations measure ambient air pollution levels in the vicinity of the Port. The program includes a number of real-time air quality measurements: ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, two sizes of particulate matter (PM10 or coarse particles, and PM2.5 or fine particles), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and ultrafine particles. In addition, twenty-four hour integrated samples of particulates are collected on filters every third day for detailed chemical analyses, which can not be done with real-time monitors. As part of the program, meteorological monitoring stations operate adjacent to each air monitoring station, to help interpret the air quality data and for use in other Port programs. Each meteorological monitoring station collects wind speed, wind direction, and temperature data; in addition, one station also collects solar radiation, relative humidity, and barometric pressure data.

The monitoring stations are strategically located within the Port’s ROI at (1) the Outer Harbor area at Berth 47 near the south end of the Port, (2) the Terminal Island Treatment Plant (TITP) in the center of Port operations, (3) within the San Pedro community near the intersection of South Harbor Boulevard and 3rd Street, and (4) within the Wilmington community at the Sts. Peter & Paul Elementary School. Selection of the locations for the two community stations was dependent on a special “validation study” to ensure that the monitoring sites were representative of ambient conditions within the community.

All of the real-time data are available for public review on the CAAP web site, which can be accessed from this location. The CAAP web site also displays data collected by two stations operated on behalf of the Port of Long Beach, which provides a more comprehensive picture of air quality within the San Pedro Ports area.

For real-time data, visit caap.airsis.com.

Air Quality Monitoring Stations


Click here for a map of Air Quality Monitoring Station locations.


solar-roof
Station 1: Wilmington Community Station
 
  		Station 2: Coastal Boundary Station
Station 2: Coastal Boundary Station
 
 
Station 3: Source-Dominated Station
Station 3: Source-Dominated Station
 
  		Station 4: San Pedro Community Station
Station 4: San Pedro Community Station
 
 

Air Quality Monitoring Results

Particulate Data

The following graphs and tables provide summaries of the particulate data measured at the four community air monitoring stations within the Port of Los Angeles network. Although the data are collected as integrated samples on EPA's designated schedule (every third day), the tables depict monthly averages and the graphs depict annual averages. More detailed graphs showing monthly variations are archived, by year, below.  These averages reduce the day-to-day variability in the data, making it easier to determine the longer-term data trends. As evident in the graphs and tables, the level of particulates in the atmosphere varies considerably. These variations occur for a number of reasons, including the time of year and changes in the weather and Port operations.

Cumulative Data* By Pollutant (2005-2012)
PM2.5
 Graph Table
Elemental Carbon (EC)
 Graph Table
PM10
 Graph Table

 

Historical Monthly Averages By Pollutant
PM2.5
 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Elemental Carbon (EC)

 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
PM10
 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012


Real-Time Data

In addition, in 2008 the Port began collecting and transmitting real-time data for ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, two sizes of particulate matter (PM10 or coarse particles, and PM2.5 or fine particles), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and ultrafine particles to a publicly-accessible, real-time air monitoring website. To view real-time data, visit caap.airsis.com.

*Cumulative data tables show comparisons to State and Federal standards. To learn more about air quality standards, please visit:

arb.ca.gov/research/aaqs/aaqs.htm

or

epa.gov/air/caa/peg/

Additionally, sampling data will be used to perform health risk assessments, which are ways of estimating lifetime cancer risk if one were exposed at the observed sampling level throughout a 70-year lifetime. To learn more about health risk assessments, please visit:

oehha.ca.gov/risk/layperson/index.html