Get all air quality monitors in a Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA). CBSAs are metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas defined by the Office of Management and Budget. Parameters: - param: 5-digit AQS parameter code for the pollutant. Common codes: - 44201: Ozone (O3) - 88101: PM2.5 (Fine ...
AI agents call aqs_monitors_by_cbsa to retrieve information from EPA Air Quality System (AQS) MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves air quality monitoring data from the EPA's public API without any side effects. It queries existing data about monitor locations and readings filtered by geographic area (CBSA), pollutant type, and date range.
From the tool's definition Tool description states 'Get all air quality monitors' which is a retrieval operation. Parameters request pollutant codes, date ranges, and geographic identifiers—all inputs for querying data.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Get all air quality monitors in a Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA). CBSAs are metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas defined by the Office of Management and Budget. Parameters: - param: 5-digit AQS parameter code for the pollutant. Common codes: - 44201: Ozone (O3) - 88101: PM2.5 (Fine Particulate Matter, Local Conditions) - 81102: PM10 (Particulate Matter) - 42401: Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) - 42101: Carbon Monoxide (CO) - 42602: Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) - bdate/edate: Begin and end dates in YYYYMMDD format (must be same calendar year) - cbsa: 5-digit CBSA code. Examples: - 31080: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA - 35620: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA - 16980: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI - 19100: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX - 26420: Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX - 38060: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Note: Email and API key can be provided or will use AQS_EMAIL/AQS_API_KEY environment variables. It is categorised as a Read tool in the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for aqs_monitors_by_cbsa: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches EPA Air Quality System (AQS) MCP Server. Nothing to install.
aqs_monitors_by_cbsa is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the aqs_monitors_by_cbsa rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for aqs_monitors_by_cbsa. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
aqs_monitors_by_cbsa is provided by the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) MCP Server MCP server (tyson-swetnam/aqs-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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