Ambient Air Monitoring Team

Along with being a harmful pollutant in and of themselves, Oxides of Nitrogen are also precursors for the production of Ground-Level Ozone, and are therefore monitored by the Ambient Air Monitoring Team at CAMS located in and around the City of Fort Worth. Oxides of Nitrogen monitored by the City of Fort Worth include:

• Nitric oxide (NO)
• Total nitrogen oxides (NOX, the sum of NO and NO2)
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

Although the City of Fort Worth is not within a Non-Attainment Region for Particulate Matter (PM), we and the TCEQ recognize that PM emissions are on the rise regionally and present a definite risk to the public health and welfare. As such, the Ambient Air Monitoring Team maintains and operates PM monitors located at several sites in and around the City of Fort Worth. Currently, we are monitoring for PM2.5 - Particles that are measured at less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are small enough to be transported through the upper respiratory tract past the bronchioles and into the alveoli of the lung, causing direct health hazards. PM2.5 is monitored in both six-day incremental sampling and in near real-time, continuous sampling.

The DFW Metroplex has been found by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to be in Non-Attainment of the "8-Hour Ozone" National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Therefore, in an attempt to increase awareness and education and to reduce emissions affecting local concentrations of Ground-Level Ozone, the Ambient Air Monitoring Team maintains and operates continuous ozone monitors at Continuous Air Monitoring Stations (CAMS) located in and around the City of Fort Worth.