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Air Quality Index (AQI)

© Floyd Tilton

The average adult inhales approximately 34,000 gallons of air per day. For this reason, proper functioning of the lungs is essential, since they must process this air into usable gasses within the body. As the old saying goes, what goes up, must come down, and so not only do we inhale this large volume of air, but we must exhale it as well. Again, proper lung functioning is essential for proper elimination of this gaseous waste.

Of course, for those of us with lung disease, the optimum functioning will never be reached, but when the quality of that air is less than perfect, even more respiratory problems come about. For this reason, the quality of the air is important to good respiratory health, and the measure of that quality is the Air Quality Index (AQI).

Think of the AQI as a ruler that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI number, the greater the air pollution and the greater the health risk. An AQI of 50, for example, represents good air quality and little danger to respiratory health, while an AQI of over 300 represents poor air quality and therefore a significant risk.

An AQI of 100 is considered to be the national air quality standard for a particular pollutant. This level has been set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess the risk to public health. AQI values less than 100 are satisfactory. When the AQI is above 100, air quality is considered to be unhealthy. As the number rises, so do the risks and the number of people who might be affected by the pollutants in the air.

The EPA measures the AQI for five major pollutants: ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Each of these pollutants can have significant effects on people with respiratory problems such as emphysema, asthma or other lung diseases. By knowing on any particular day what the air quality is, those with COPD can help to plan their activities so that they will not have high exposures to the unhealthy effects of pollutants.

As a quick way of knowing the air quality and what it means generally, the following scale can be used.

• Good The AQI value for your community is between 0 and 50. Air quality is considered satisfactory and air pollution poses little or no risk.
• Moderate The AQI for your community is between 51 and 100. Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of individuals. For example, people who are unusually sensitive to ozone may experience respiratory symptoms.

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