| CURRENT AIR QUALITY ON THE BISHOP PAIUTE RESERVATION |
This site will show you a map and photographs of the Tribe’s monitoring station, located on the roof of the Environmental Management Office. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you can select either the most recent 24-hours or monthly data. |
| REGIONAL AIR QUALITY |
This site links our air quality data to the US EPA website AIRNOW and provides a regional map of air quality. To obtain information on air quality for some neighboring tribes, go to the “RELATED LINKS” page |
| HOW AIR QUALITY IS MEASURED |
To protect the health of reservation residents, air quality is monitored on the Bishop Paiute Reservation. Two instruments are used. Both measure the concentration of very small particles that are suspended in the air (particulate matter). These measurements are important because the particles are small enough to lodge in the human lung and cause or aggravate health problems. In the Owens Valley, particulate matter is the primary air pollutant and there are two primary sources, dust and smoke. The Tribe collects measurements for two particle sizes. PM-10 refers to particles that are less than 10 microns in diameter (about 8 will fit in the diameter of a human hair). PM-2.5 refers to particles that are less than 2.5 microns in diameter. Generally speaking, high PM-10 measurements reflect dust events and high PM-2.5 measurements reflect smoke events. |
| Particulate matter is measured in micrograms per cubic meter of air. Standards have been established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and by the State of California. When the concentration of particulate matter exceeds these standards, health can be adversely affected. All standards refer to the average concentration in a 24-hour period. |  |
PM-10:
Federal: 24-hour average concentrations must not
exceed 150
micrograms per cubic meter |
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TEOM/FDMS Unit For more information on these measurements and the instruments that collect them, go to “INSTRUMENTS”. |
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