AirBeat provides realtime information on the most widespread and harmful air pollutants in the Boston area.   These include ground-level ozone (sometimes known as smog) and fine particulate matter (sometimes known as soot).   Ozone is a colorless, odorless gas that affects the lungs much like sunburn affects the skin.   Fine particulate matter is a mixture of microscopic acids, metals, petroleum byproducts, and diesel soot.
Ground-Level Ozone (O3)
Health Effects
(not all of these are noticeable)
Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)
  
x
Coughing, irritation of the airways, discomfort in the chest or when breathing
    
x
Premature aging of the lungs
    
x
Faster or more shallow breathing
x
  
x
Aggravation of asthma, emphysema,and other respiratory diseases
x
  
x
Increased risk of respiratory infections
x
  
 
Premature death (primarily among older adults and those with existing heart and lung disease)
x
  

Ozone (abbreviated as O3) and fine particulate matter (abbreviated as PM2.5) affect different people in different ways.   Moreover, as their concentrations increase, more and more people experience health effects and the effects can become more serious.   To simplify matters, the U.S. EPA has developed an Air Quality Index (AQI) that rates the overall quality of the air and the people at greatest risk.
     
Air QualityIndex (AQI)
Description
Who's Affected
0 - 50
Good
Nobody
51 - 100
Moderate
Unusually sensitive individuals
101 - 150
Unhealthy
Sensitive Groups
- Children
- Older adults
- Asthmatics
- People with lung disease
- People with heart disease
- Adults who are active outdoors
151 - 200
Unhealthy
General public,
including sensitive groups
Much of the PM2.5 outside is capable of penetrating indoors, especially if windows are open and no air conditioner is used.   Ozone is also capable of penetrating indoors, but not as effectively as PM2.5.   Regardless of their penetration, it is important to know that the indoor environment presents a whole nother set of air pollution issues.  Pollutants commonly found indoors include tobacco smoke, insecticides, radon, lead paint, mold, dust, and animal hair.   Oftentimes, pollution indoors can be worse than pollution outdoors.   This is a serious issue for families coping with asthma.   For more information on asthma and its causes, visit our links page.
AirBeat also provides realtime information on a pollutant called black carbon.  In urban areas, black carbon is emitted mostly from diesel engines found in trucks, busses, generators, and construction equipment.   Black carbon is one of the many components of PM2.5, but has the unique ability to absorb toxic gasses and deliver them to the lungs.   The specific health effects of black carbon can not be stated with much certainty.   However, diesel exhaust as a whole (which contains black carbon) is associated with increases in lung cancer and may lead to inflammation of the airways that can cause or worsen asthma.


Ozone, fine particulate matter, and black carbon provide good indicators of the overall air quality in Roxbury and account for much of the risk that residents face from air pollution.  However, there is another category of air pollutants commonly known as air toxics.   Air toxics are comprised of dozens of different compounds that typically occur in low concentrations.  However, as a whole, and over the span of many years, their effects can be significant if concentrations are high enough.   These include cancer, damage to the nervous system, and birth defects.   Currently, technology is not readily available to report air toxics in realtime.   However, monitoring of air toxics is underway in Roxbury, and results will be posted on this website when available.  In the meantime, you can find out more about air toxics by visiting EPA's air toxics website.


Finally, everyone should be careful to avoid too much exposure to the sun, especially children and especially during the summer.   Ultraviolet rays (uv) from the sun not only cause sunburn and permanent damage to the skin, but they can lead to cataracts and suppression of the skin's immunity system.   To learn more about ultraviolet rays and to get realtime information and uv forecasts, visit EPA's SunWise website.