Fireworks EPA monitor flag
Daily PM2.5 peaked at 117.8 µg/m³ near Chicago across 6 covered metros home to 21 million people. 4 metros placed a top-ten day in their record.
Counting the extra PM2.5 above each metro's typical day, this event handed the average affected resident ≈ 3.7 cigarettes. Across everyone living in the affected metros, that is the collective equivalent of ≈ 78 million cigarettes. An awareness illustration of outdoor exposure at 22 µg/m³ per cigarette (Berkeley Earth), counting only the event's ranked days; not a medical dose.
Why we think this happened
Qualified frozen evidence supports fireworks as the broad cause for this time-bounded episode and supports grouping 4 overlapping event records.
EPA monitor flag EPA attached an exceptional-event qualifier to the affected samples. The agency flagged the measurement itself; no separate agency record describes the event.
U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Jul 5, 2015 official
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RH, Fireworks.) on 7 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-05, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Jul 4, 2015 official
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IH, Fireworks.) on 18 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-04, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
U.S. EPA Air Quality System and the submitting air monitoring agency · Jul 5, 2015 official
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IH, Fireworks.) on 42 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-05, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
See every retained source and limitation ↓
Sequence: Louisville/Jefferson County (Jul 4) → St. Louis (Jul 4) → Chicago (Jul 5) → Seattle (Jul 5) → Indianapolis (Jul 5) → Grand Rapids (Jul 5)
Evidence path
A cause is more convincing when the record connects three things: something happened, the air mass moved toward the region, and local instruments responded. Here is how much of that chain is documented for this event.
Source or mechanism
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RH, Fireworks.) on 7 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-05, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency…
View supporting source ↗Air-mass movement
Contemporaneous reporting identified British Columbia wildfires as the source of haze across Puget Sound and reported pollution spikes late Sunday night, overlapping the event date.
View transport source ↗Local response
EPA monitors recorded the event across 6 metros. The peak daily concentration is roughly 5.4 cigarette-equivalents at the outdoor daily rate.
Inspect the pollutant and weather signals ↓Event autopsy
Before, during, and after the episode: nearby pollutant monitors and surface-weather stations show what changed. This context tests the “Fireworks” explanation; it does not assign the cause by itself.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Monitor comparison window 2015-07-02 to 2015-07-08 · PM2.5 target: LIBERTY SCHOOL
199% above nearby days
13% lower than surrounding days
322% higher than surrounding days
199% higher than surrounding days
322% higher than surrounding days
16% higher than surrounding days
29% higher than surrounding days
52% higher than surrounding days
44% higher than surrounding days
9% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
12% higher than surrounding days
13% lower than surrounding days
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
Monitor comparison window 2015-07-02 to 2015-07-08 · PM2.5 target: GR-MONROE
580% above nearby days
31% lower than surrounding days
No adjacent-day comparison
580% higher than surrounding days
No adjacent-day comparison
66% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
74% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
7% higher than surrounding days
31% lower than surrounding days
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Monitor comparison window 2015-07-02 to 2015-07-08 · PM2.5 target: TACOMA - L STREET
98% above nearby days
About the same as surrounding days
9% higher than surrounding days
98% higher than surrounding days
9% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
7% higher than surrounding days
53% higher than surrounding days
10% higher than surrounding days
8% lower than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
Monitor comparison window 2015-07-01 to 2015-07-08 · PM2.5 target: Southwick
60% above nearby days
9% lower than surrounding days
88% higher than surrounding days
60% higher than surrounding days
88% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
10% lower than surrounding days
8% lower than surrounding days
8% higher than surrounding days
11% lower than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
9% lower than surrounding days
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN
Monitor comparison window 2015-07-01 to 2015-07-08 · PM2.5 target: Indpls- West St.
185% above nearby days
36% lower than surrounding days
135% higher than surrounding days
185% higher than surrounding days
135% higher than surrounding days
25% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
92% higher than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
8% lower than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
36% lower than surrounding days
St. Louis, MO-IL
Monitor comparison window 2015-07-01 to 2015-07-08 · PM2.5 target: Arnold West
85% above nearby days
25% lower than surrounding days
117% higher than surrounding days
85% higher than surrounding days
117% higher than surrounding days
17% higher than surrounding days
32% higher than surrounding days
9% higher than surrounding days
26% higher than surrounding days
14% lower than surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
About the same as surrounding days
25% lower than surrounding days
Source: U.S. EPA AirData daily observations and, where available, nearby ASOS/AWOS surface observations. Values are descriptive medians over the retained monitor set; missing measurements remain missing. Transport and source evidence remain separate layers because this instrument pattern does not assign a cause by itself.
Episode peak
-- cigarettes
The smoke map's scale, replayed over this event: the surface interpolates between covered metros' daily records, framed to the affected region. Hover for a reading, click a metro to pin it to the card. Days a monitor did not report draw nothing.
Views from the selected metro
Select a metro on the map to see nearby cameras. Where an operator archive reaches the event, drag the divider to compare two moments, adjust either date and time, or play the available event-day frames. Camera imagery is visual context, not an air-quality measurement or proof of smoke.
No useful public camera views are currently available within 80 km of this metro.
| Metro | Peak PM2.5 | Cigarettes, whole event | Peak day | All-time standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 117.8 µg/m³ | 5.4 | Jul 5, 2015 | #5 of its top days |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 77.3 µg/m³ | 3.5 | Jul 5, 2015 | #17 of its top days |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | 66.4 µg/m³ | 3.0 | Jul 5, 2015 | #5 of its top days |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 60.2 µg/m³ | 2.7 | Jul 4, 2015 | #6 of its top days |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI | 58.5 µg/m³ | 2.7 | Jul 5, 2015 | #9 of its top days |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 49.8 µg/m³ | 4.4 | Jul 5, 2015 | #19 of its top days |
"Cigarettes, whole event" totals a metro's ranked event days at 22 µg/m³ per cigarette: what a person outdoors there breathed across the event, as the illustration. "All-time standing" is where this episode's days sit in each metro's ranked record (worst-area measure, since 1999). Full local context is on each metro's Air Records page.
Public evidence library
Each card states what a source supports—and what it does not. Official records, research, reporting, community observations, and transparent inferences remain visibly different kinds of evidence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier RH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RH, Fireworks.) on 7 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-05, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier IH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IH, Fireworks.) on 18 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-04, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier IH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IH, Fireworks.) on 42 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-05, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier RH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RH, Fireworks.) on 16 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-04, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier IH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IH, Fireworks.) on 15 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-04, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier IH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IH, Fireworks.) on 3 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-05, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier IH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IH, Fireworks.) on 4 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-04, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier RH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RH, Fireworks.) on 26 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-05, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier IH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IH, Fireworks.) on 37 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-05, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier RH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RH, Fireworks.) on 17 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-05, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier RH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted request-exclusion qualifier (RH, Fireworks.) on 16 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-05, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. A request-exclusion qualifier is an official submitting-agency causal claim, but this endpoint does not establish EPA concurrence.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier IH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IH, Fireworks.) on 23 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-05, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
AQS PM2.5 qualifier IH — Fireworks.
EPA AQS carries an agency-submitted informational qualifier (IH, Fireworks.) on 3 PM2.5 samples in the candidate CBSA on 2015-07-05, identifying fireworks as affecting the samples. An informational qualifier is an official submitting-agency flag, not a request for exclusion or an EPA-concurred determination.
Illinois Air Quality Report 2015
Illinois EPA's 2015 annual report identifies Fourth of July fireworks as causing elevated PM2.5 concentrations in localized areas, supporting a fireworks source for the Chicago portion of this event.
Canadian wildfires pushing smoke across Puget Sound
Contemporaneous reporting identified British Columbia wildfires as the source of haze across Puget Sound and reported pollution spikes late Sunday night, overlapping the event date.
A 315-site U.S. analysis found PM2.5 is typically elevated on July 4 evening and July 5 morning, but it does not attribute the St. Louis event specifically to fireworks.
EPA monitor flag EPA attached an exceptional-event qualifier to the affected samples. The agency flagged the measurement itself; no separate agency record describes the event.
This episode was grouped from the monitor record by the catalog pipeline and given its cause from the evidence listed above. It has not been individually reviewed and signed off, so its boundaries, cause, and name may change as evidence accumulates. Grouping policy common_sense_root_cause_grouping.v2. The cause label reflects the assembled evidence above, not an IAQng detection formula. If it is wrong, tell us.