Contents

• Air Quality Summary
• National Ambient Air Quality Standards
  • Table 1 – Ambient Air Quality Standards
  • Figure 1 – Location of Monitoring Stations in SB County
• Air Quality Monitoring Station Status for 2004
  • Table 2. Monitoring Station Parameter List – 2004
• Criteria Pollutant Summary
  • Table 3.  Four Highest 1-Hour Ozone Concentrations for 2004
  • Table 4.  Four Highest 8-Hour Ozone Concentrations for 2004
  • Table 5 – Four Highest 1-Hour NO2 Concentrations for 2004
  • Table 6 – Four Highest 1-Hour SO2 Concentrations for 2004
  •  Table 7 – Four Highest 1-Hour CO Concentrations for 2004
  • Table 8 – 2004 Particulate summary for PM10
  • Table 9 – 2004
  • Figure 1 – Location of Monitoring Stations in SB County
  • Figure 2 – Ozone Exceedance Days
• New in 2004

Air Quality Summary

This annual report provides information on the air quality in Santa Barbara County for 2004.

In 2004, Santa Barbara County met the federal standards for all measured pollutants except for the 8-hour ozone standard. The 8-hour ozone standard was exceeded on three days during 2004. (Read more about ozone).

Santa Barbara County also met the California state standards for all pollutants except for the one-hour ozone (O3) standard and the 24-hour particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM10) standard. The California ozone standard of 0.09 parts per million (ppm) was exceeded on two days in 2004, while the state PM10 standard of 50 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) was exceeded one time.

Specific information about the ozone exceedances in Santa Barbara County can be found at Summary of Days Exceeding Ozone Standards.

National Ambient Air Quality Standards

The Federal Clean Air Act (CAA) (Title 1, Section 109) requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prescribe national primary ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for certain air pollutants where public health criteria (protecting sensitive populations such as asthmatics) have been established. These pollutant levels were chosen to protect the health of the most susceptible individuals in a population, including children, the elderly and those with chronic respiratory ailments. A secondary standard is also prescribed to protect human welfare (visibility, crop damage, building damage). These pollutants are known as criteria pollutants.

The EPA currently has NAAQS for seven criteria pollutants: ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), lead (Pb), particulate matter (PM10) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5).

In addition to the EPA standards, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has set air quality standards for the same criteria pollutants and four others: sulfates, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), vinyl chloride (chloroethene, C2H3Cl), and visibility reducing particles.

Table 1 lists the current Federal and California standards.

Figure 1 shows the locations of all monitoring stations in Santa Barbara county operating in 2004.

Air Quality Monitoring Station Status for 2004

In 2004, there were 18 monitoring stations operating in Santa Barbara County, of which seven were operated by the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD.) The remaining stations were operated by the CARB, the National Park Service, and private industry. Table 2 lists the monitoring stations operating in Santa Barbara County during 2004 and the pollutants and parameters measured at each station.

Criteria Pollutant Summary

Table 3 presents the four highest 1-hour ozone concentrations measured during 2004. The highest hourly ozone concentration recorded in Santa Barbara County in 2004 was 109 parts per billion (ppb). This concentration was recorded at the El Capitan station on the 6th of September.

In comparison, the highest ozone value recorded in 2003 was 107 ppb, at three monitoring stations.

The last federal one-hour ozone standard exceedance recorded in Santa Barbara County (128 ppb at Las Flores Canyon) was in 2000.

Table 4 lists the four highest 8-hour ozone concentrations measured during 2004. The highest 8-hour hour ozone concentration recorded in Santa Barbara County was 102 ppb at the Las Flores Canyon 1 station on October 26. The high value for 2003 was 102 ppb at the Las Flores Canyon 1 station.

Figure 2 shows ozone exceedance days above the California State and Federal Standards for 1988 through 2004.

Table 5 shows the four highest 1-hour concentrations for NO2 for 2004. The highest concentration for this pollutant was 48 ppb. No state or federal standards were exceeded for NO2 in 2004.

Table 6 shows the four highest 1-hour concentrations for SO2 for 2004. The highest concentration for this pollutant was 15 ppb. No state or federal standards were exceeded for SO2 in 2004.

Table 7 shows the four highest 1-hour concentrations for CO for 2004. The highest concentration for this pollutant was 2.7 ppm. No state or federal standards were exceeded for CO in 2004.

Table 8 provides the 2004 particulate summary for PM10. There were no samples over the federal 24-hour standard of 150 µg/m3. There was one station that measured a particulate level over the state 24-hour California standard of 50 µg/m3 during the year. The highest value for 2004 (52 µg/m3) was recorded on April 27th at the Santa Maria station. There was also one station that measured a particulate level over the state California state annual arithmetic mean standard of 20 µg/m3 for the year. The Santa Maria station annual arithmetic mean value for 2004 was 24 µg/m3.

Table 9 provides the 2004 particulate summary for PM2.5. There were no samples over any California or federal standard.

New in 2004

The Santa Rosa monitoring station was decommissioned at the end of 2004.