Air Pollution Sources in South Coast Air Basin—Impacts of Meteorology, Terrain, and Other Sources

Distribution of Industrial Sites in the South Coast Air Quality District

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) is the air pollution control agency for all of Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties in California. This area of 10,000 square miles is home to nearly 16 million people. It is the second most populated urban area in the United States and one of the smoggiest. AQMD is responsible for controlling emissions primarily from stationary sources of air pollution. These facilities can range from large power plants and refineries to the corner gas station. There are about 28,000 such businesses operating under AQMD permits.

Gridded Particulate Matter Emissions from Building Construction Activity in the South Coast Air Basin

AQMD is also responsible for controlling emissions from area or nonpoint sources within the district. Area sources include numerous types of activity such as dust from travel on unpaved roads, agricultural activity, and road and building construction. AQMD uses GIS to spatially resolve the area source emissions. The map shows the results of calculating fugitive PM10 (particulate matter under 10 microns) emissions from building construction activity in a two-by-two-kilometer gridded format.