To protect public health and welfare, EPA issues National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six criteria pollutants, which include particulate matter (PM) and ozone. Exposure to PM and ozone is linked to a variety of significant health problems, ranging from aggravated asthma to premature death in people with heart and lung disease. Particle pollution also is the main cause of visibility impairment in the nation's cities and national parks.

In 2006, EPA issued new standards for the 24-hour fine particle standard from 65 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) to 35 µg/m3, while retaining the annual fine particle standard at 15 µg/m3. In 2007, EPA proposed to strengthen the national ambient air quality standards for ground-level ozone, the primary component of smog, with a proposal to set the primary (health) standard to a level within the range of 0.070-0.075 ppm (70 -75 ppb) versus the current standard 8-hour primary ozone standard of 0.084 ppm. The work required to implement and attain these new standards will extend to 2020 and include the GOES-R timeframe. The EPA is developing the capabilities to use measurements from GOES-R in critical areas for assessing air quality.

Over the past several years, EPA through collaborations with NOAA, NASA, and other researchers has been using current NASA and European research and NOAA operational satellite observations within various air quality applications along with the goal to build capabilities for the next generation of satellite instruments. The GOES-R ABI sensor with next generation technology and onboard calibration systems will provide highly accurate retrievals of aerosols (optical depth, type, size) along with increase accuracy and resolution of fire detection. This talk will discuss EPA's current efforts in three areas; satellite-based air quality monitoring for PM2.5 and the development of prototype monitoring tools; aerosol assimilation in regional air quality forecast models; and the use of geostationary satellite data to assist in the development of EPA's national emission inventory for biomass burning emission estimates.