PM2.5 AQI breakpoints will change soon

As many of you know, on Dec. 14, 2012, US EPA took steps to protect the health of Americans from fine particle pollution by strengthening the annual health National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine particles (PM 2.5) to 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter and retaining the 24-hour PM 2.5 standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter. As part of the December action, EPA also updated the Air Quality Index for PM 2.5. The effective date of the rule is March 18, 2013.
The AirData system will be updated to reflect the revised AQI breakpoints on or in the days following March 18. We will send out an announcement the day the transition occurs. All data products that use the AQI will reflect the new breakpoints from that point forward.
For a fact sheet on the revised standards and updated AQI breakpoints, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/airquality/particlepollution/2012/decfsstandards.pdf
To read the final rule, visit:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-01-15/pdf/2012-30946.pdf