Since 2005, the Port of Los Angeles has monitored air quality within its operational region of influence in Los Angeles Harbor. This air quality 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 region of influence. The air quality monitoring stations measure ambient air pollution levels in the vicinity of the Port of Los Angeles. 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, 24-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.
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.