LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY | Secretary Aurelia S. Giacometto
A DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
Ambient Air Monitoring operations are the responsibility of the DEQ Air Planning and Assessment Division, Air Field Services Section. The Air Field Services Section maintains a statewide monitoring network, made up of stationary Ambient Air Monitoring stations. From these sites, Analysis personnel collect direct measurements of air pollutant concentrations, analyze, and interpret the data. The data collected is used to track trends in air quality and to determine compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Monitoring sites contain specialized instruments to measure concentrations of the pollutants ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead, and respirable particulate matter, in accordance with federal air monitoring requirements. The Air Field Services Section also measures concentrations of volatile organic compounds at selected sites throughout Louisiana.
The Section also reports daily Air Quality Forecasts and readings to the public in the following areas: Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, New Orleans, Shreveport, and Thibodaux. DEQ provides the information to radio and television news and to local newspapers, who report the air quality reading in a short air quality statement included in the daily weather report mainly during ozone season. Hourly Air Quality readings and the daily Air Quality Forecast are also available on this web site.
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
| Pollutant | Primary / Secondary | Averaging Time | Level | Form | Attainment Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon Monoxide |
Primary |
8 - hour 1 - hour |
9ppm 35 ppm |
Not to be exceeded more than once per year | Attainment |
| Lead | Primary and Secondary | Rolling 3 month average | 0.15 µg/m3 | Not to be exceeded | Attainment |
|
Nitrogen Dioxide |
Primary Primary and Secondary |
1 - hour Annual |
100 ppb 53 ppb |
98th percentile, averaged over 3 years Annual Mean |
Attainment |
| Ozone |
Primary and Secondary |
8 - hour |
0.070 ppm |
Annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour concentration averaged over 3 years |
Attainment |
|
Particle Pollution PM2.5 |
Primary Secondary
Primary and Secondary |
Annual
24-hour |
9.0 µg/m3 15.0 µg/m3
35.0 µg/m3 |
Annual Mean averaged over three years
98th percentile, averaged over three years |
Attainment |
| Particle Pollution PM10 |
Primary and Secondary |
24 - hour |
150 µg/m3 |
Not to be exceeded more than once per year on average over three years |
Attainment |
|
Sulfur Dioxide |
Primary
Second |
1 - hour
3 - hour |
75 ppb
0.5 ppm |
99th percentile of 1-hour daily maximum concentrations averaged over three years
Not to be exceeded more than once per year |
Non-Attainment for St. Bernard Parish only |