Air Quality
We all desire clean air to breathe. Air pollutants can aggravate existing heart and lung conditions. Air pollution damages plant life and can result in lower yields of crops.
Air pollution has been linked to a number of health problems, such as asthma, heart disease, allergies, and breathing problems among others.
The New Mexico Environmental Public Health Tracking Network and the National Tracking Network at CDC work closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to provide air quality data on the EPHT Network and to better understand how air pollution affects our health. On these air quality pages you will find information and data about ozone and particulate matter and the kinds of problems these can cause for our health.
As part of our environmental health tracking program we are looking for connections between air quality data and chronic disease data. One of our current studies compares ozone levels to asthma emergency room visits.
Air quality refers to the condition of the air that surrounds us. Indoor air quality refers to the condition of the air inside our homes, schools, work sites, and public buildings. Some research estimates that people can spend up to 90% of their time indoors. Sources of indoor air pollution include dust, cigar and cigarette smoke, mold, combustion products (such as wood and oil for heating) and chemical emissions from cleaning and maintenance products, furnishings, building materials and floor coverings. Radon and carbon monoxide are also an in indoor quality concern and exposure to these can have negative health outcomes.
Avoid Carbon Monoxide Exposure Inside Your Home.
Guide to Air Cleaners and Filters
Outdoor pollution may come from a variety of naturally occurring and man-made sources, such as:
- agriculture
- auto emissions
- construction
- dust storms
- forest fires
- manufacturing
- military operations
- mining
- oil and gas production, emissions and byproducts
- ozone
- pesticides
- sand and gravel operations
- smoke
- New Mexico Environmental Public Health Tracking: Air Quality
- New Mexico Air Quality Data 2004
