Hawthorne Air Monitoring Station - Hawthorne, California | Environmental Monitoring

The Hawthorne Air Monitoring Station is located at 5234 W. 120th St., Hawthorne, California, within Los Angeles County. It is operated by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and is part of the US EPA Air Quality System (AQS) network, which monitors criteria pollutants and other parameters to assess regional air quality. As an air monitoring station, it measures pollutants such as ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and others, following federal reference methods. The station supports compliance with the Clean Air Act and National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). SCAQMD operates a dense network of stations across Southern California to track air pollution trends and inform public health advisories. The Hawthorne station contributes to long-term air quality data collection in the South Coast Air Basin, an area with historically high ozone and particulate matter levels. Its data supports regulatory actions, emission reduction strategies, and community awareness. The station's location near residential and industrial areas provides representative sampling for population exposure assessments.

The Hawthorne station is situated in the South Coast Air Basin, which faces challenges from vehicular emissions, industrial sources, and port activities. Monitoring criteria pollutants like ozone and PM2.5 is critical due to the region's nonattainment status for these pollutants under the NAAQS. The station's data helps track progress toward attainment and supports air quality forecasting and health advisories for the Los Angeles metropolitan area.