Cleveland Multiple Air Pollutant Study (CMAPS) 

What is CMAPS? 

The Cleveland Multiple Air Pollutant Study 

(CMAPS) is an air pollution research study 

deploying state-of-the-science measurement and 

modeling tools to investigate sources of air 

pollution in Cleveland, Ohio, and the distribution 

of the pollutants across the metropolitan area. 

CMAPS also will provide data to evaluate the 

relationship between air pollution sources, air 

pollution exposures, and potential health impacts. 

Why is EPA conducting CMAPS? 

Air quality in the city of Cleveland is impacted 

by numerous local and regional air pollutant 

sources. Additionally, Cleveland has two air 

monitoring sites that exceed current national air 

quality standards for particulate matter. CMAPS 

will provide important information to EPA and 

state and local air quality managers regarding the 

relative contributions that various sources make 

to Cleveland’s air pollutant concentrations. 

Who is involved in CMAPS? 

EPA scientists are partnering with local air 

quality and public health professionals to 

conduct CMAPS. Local partners include the 

Cleveland Department of Public Health’s 

Division of Air Quality, Akron Regional Air 

Quality Management District, and Ohio EPA. 

How will the air pollution measurements be 

conducted? 

CMAPS will include a year-long air pollution 

measurement period and two shorter air pollution 

measurement periods. The focus of the year-long 

effort will be to collect data on particulate matter 

and mercury necessary for advanced air quality 

modeling. 

The two shorter measurement periods will be one 

month in duration and will deploy monitoring 

equipment to measure pollutants, including 

particulate matter, ozone, carbon monoxide, 

sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, mercury, black 

carbon (soot), and ammonia. These continuous 

measurements of key air pollutants will provide 

researchers with detailed information about how 

pollutant concentrations vary with time. The 

shorter measurement periods will include the use 

of new passive monitoring methods that do not 

require electrical power, allowing them, easily, to 

be placed at numerous locations across the study 

area. These methods will provide information 

about how air pollutant concentrations vary 

across Cleveland and surrounding areas. In 

addition to pollutant measurements, 

meteorological measurements, including 

temperature, wind speed and direction, and 

rainfall will be conducted during the shorter 

measurement periods. 

Where will the air pollution measurements be 

conducted? 

CMAPS monitoring sites were selected to 

provide researchers with accurate representation 

of air quality in Cleveland and surrounding areas. 

The year-long measurements will be conducted 

at two urban sites and one regional background 

site. The urban sites will be located at the 

George T. Craig Monitoring Station and at 

MetroHealth Medical Center. The background 

site will provide information about air pollution 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Office of Research and Development 
 

transported from regional sources and will be 

located at Chippewa Lake in Medina County. 

The locations for the shorter measurement 

periods will be the same as the year-long 

measurements, plus an additional site at Fire 

Station 13 in Cleveland. In addition, the shorter 

measurement periods will also include the 

placement of passive monitoring devices at 

Cuyahoga Valley National Park and 

approximately 20 fire stations throughout 

Cleveland. 

How will the air pollutant measurements be 

used? 

Modeling tools will be used to analyze the air 

pollutant measurements to provide information 

about the distribution of air pollutants throughout 

the study area, and the sources contributing to air 

pollution in Cleveland. The measurement data 

will be used to conduct modeling analyses to 

evaluate how pollutant sources impact people’s 

exposures. CMAPS measurements also will be 

used to evaluate and improve advanced modeling 

tools that can be used in future air quality 

modeling analyses in Cleveland and other areas 

of the United States. 

When will CMAPS occur? 

The year-long air pollutant measurements for 

CMAPS will begin in July 2009. The two 

shorter measurement periods will occur in 

August 2009 and February 2010. Data and 

modeling analyses using the measurement data 

will continue through 2011. 

EPA Technical Contact: 

Gary Norris, Ph.D., CMAPS Principal 

Investigator 

National Exposure Research Laboratory 

Office of Research and Development 

919-541-1519 or norris.gary@epa.gov 

June 2009 

2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Office of Research and Development