Border Air Quality Data - About Common Selection Criteria

All reports of U.S.-Mexico border area air quality data have the types of selection criteria described below.

Geographic Area

The name of the geographic area you selected previously is displayed here. To choose a different area, click your browser's Back button, or click the Reports link in the "breadcrumbs" above the page name.

Pollutant

The name or abbreviation of each air pollutant available for reporting. A report includes either criteria air pollutants or hazardous air pollutants.

Criteria air pollutants

The criteria air pollutants are:

CO - carbon monoxide
NO2 - nitrogen dioxide
SO2 - sulfur dioxide
O3 - ozone
PM2.5 - particulate matter with diameter < 2.5 micrometers
PM10 - particulate matter with diameter < 10 micrometers
TSP - total suspended particulate matter (all particle sizes)
Pb - lead

You may select any or all pollutants in the list. (See how to select.) A report includes only monitors that measure the pollutant(s) you select.

Hazardous air pollutants

There are approximately 200 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), but not all of them are monitored to determine their ambient concentrations in air. HAPs include individual organic compounds (e.g., benzene), classes of organic compounds (e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls), and inorganic compounds of certain metals (e.g., arsenic).

You may select up to 20 hazardous air pollutants in the list. (See how to select.) A report includes only monitors that measure the pollutant(s) you select.

A separate list identifies hazardous air pollutants for which no monitoring data are available. The list is for information only; these pollutants cannot not be included in a report.

Year of Data

The calendar year in which monitoring sites measured air pollutant concentrations. You may select any or all years in the list. (See how to select.) Data relevant to any of those years are included in the report. For example, if you selected years 2000 and 2001, a report would include monitoring sites that reported data in either of those years (or both).

Lines per Page

The number of rows displayed on each page of a report. Dividing the report into pages allows you to view it in sections small enough for your browser to handle easily. Use caution in selecting the two largest page size options; they may adversely affect browser performance. (See how to select.)

Report Columns

You may omit some data columns from reports. (See how to select.) Be aware that including or excluding columns may change the way a report summarizes data. The help page for each report explains how column inclusion or exclusion affects report content.