Pollutant and pathway watchlist
AQ26 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 | AQ26 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. |