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Air Pollution: O3 and PM2.5

The Fused Air Quality Surface Using Downscaling (FAQSD) Files is derived from data on Ozone (O3) and Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5). The data provides predictions for national-scale annual average concentration of O3 (μg/m3) and PM2.5 (μg/m3) in the United States using monitoring data and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) output.

Heat map of US Census 2006
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Heat map of US Census 2014
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Data Summary

Dataset Name: Fused Air Quality Surface Using Downscaling (FAQSD) Files
Data Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Years: All data contains measures between 2002 and 2020
Geographies: Census Tract

O3 Suggested Citation:
Jennifer Ailshire, Jong Woo Nam, Eun Young Choi. 2024. Contextual Data Resource (CDR): United States Environmental Protection Agency Ozone FAQSD Files by Census Tract, 2002-2020, Version 3.0. Los Angeles, CA: USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health.

PM2.5 Suggested Citation:
Jennifer Ailshire, Jong Woo Nam, Eun Young Choi. 2024. Contextual Data Resource (CDR): United States Environmental Protection Agency Particulate Matter 2.5 FAQSD Files by Census Tract, 2002-2020, Version 3.0. Los Angeles, CA: USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health.

  1. Choi, E. Y., & Ailshire, J. A. (2025). Ambient outdoor heat and accelerated epigenetic aging among older adults in the US. Science Advances, 11(9), eadr0616. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adr0616
  2. Yannatos, I., Stites, S., Brown, R. T., & McMillan, C. T. (2023). Contributions of neighborhood social environment and air pollution exposure to Black-White disparities in epigenetic aging. PLOS ONE, 18(7), e0287112. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287112
  3. Ailshire, J., & Walsemann, K. M. (2021). Education Differences in the Adverse Impact of PM 2.5 on Incident Cognitive Impairment Among U.S. Older Adults. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 79(2), 615–625. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-200765
  4. Courtney, M.G., Quintero, Y., & Godde, K. (2021). Assessing the roles of demographic, social, economic, environmental, health-related, and political factors on risk of osteoporosis diagnosis among older adults. Archives of Osteoporosis, 16(1), 177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11657-021-01042-0

Data Sources

United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). RSIG and FAQSD Files, https://www.epa.gov/hesc/rsig-related-downloadable-data-files.