About Air Quality
San Luis Obispo County skies are typically clear and blue with little of the characteristic brown haze associated with areas considered to have poor air quality, yet we still have an air pollution problem. Violations of the state standard for particulate matter (PM10) still occur several times a year. In order to understand why we need to work to improve our air, we need to understand how air quality is determined.
Based upon the potential for health and economic effects, certain substances have been classified as pollutants by the federal and state governments. Air monitoring is required to measure the amounts of these pollutants that are present in our air. When the levels are too high, our air is classified as polluted, and we are required to make efforts to clean it up.
In years past, air quality in our county has exceeded established standards for lead, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter. Advancements in emission controls on vehicles and stationary pollution sources of all kinds have led to significant improvements in our air quality. As a result, we now meet most of these standards. With even better emission controls, and with continued help from businesses and the public, we should be able to achieve all state and federal air quality standards in the near future.