Pollutant and pathway watchlist
This Air Quality Project tracks pollutant relevance as a review framework. The presence of a pollutant in the watchlist does not mean a local source emitted it or caused exposure.
Watchlist table
| Pollutant/pathway | This Air Quality Project use | Claim boundary |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | monitoring trend, episode and exposure-context screening only | PM2.5 near a site does not identify a source without source apportionment, meteorology and comparator analysis. |
| PM10 | local episode and monitor-completeness screening | Requires source, wind-sector and background comparison before assigning contribution. |
| NO2 / NOx | candidate combustion/traffic context and monitor-role check | Road traffic and urban background must be separated before facility interpretation. |
| SO2, HCl, HF and acid gases | permit-limit, stack-test and compliance-record review | Ambient impact cannot be inferred from permit existence alone. |
| Metals including Hg, Cd, Pb, As, Cr, Ni | periodic sample, permit, ash/residue and official-report evidence review | Metals require original laboratory/stack/residue data and chain-of-custody review. |
| Dioxins, furans, PCBs, PAHs and PFAS-relevant waste streams | watchlist and evidence-gap flag only until specialist records exist | Do not infer presence, exposure or health effect without specific measurements and expert review. |
| CO2 and fossil carbon from waste | facility, sector and national inventory context | Use lifecycle/system-boundary caution; do not compare options without consistent assumptions. |
Scientific evidence and software assurance are different
Scientific evidence
Measurements, station and regional coverage, descriptive calculations, source records and stated limitations are the evidence available for review.
Engineering assurance
Automated checks confirm that the pipeline followed its declared rules. They do not constitute peer review, accreditation, regulatory approval or institutional endorsement.