AMBIENT AIR MONITORING OPERATIONS
Ambient air monitoring operations are the responsibility of the DEQ Air Quality Assessment Division, Air Analysis Section. The Air Analysis 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, and respirable particulate matter, in accordance with federal air monitoring requirements. The Analysis Section also measures concentrations of volatile organic compounds at selected sites throughout Louisiana.
The Section also reports daily air quality readings to the public in the following cities: Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, New Orleans, and Shreveport. 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. Hourly air quality readings are also available on this web site.
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NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS
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Pollutant
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Primary Stds.
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Averaging Times
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Secondary Stds.
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Attainment Status
For Louisiana
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Carbon Monoxide
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9 ppm
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8-hour(1)
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None
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Attainment |
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(10 mg/m3)
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35 ppm
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1-hour(1)
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None
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Attainment |
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(40 mg/m3)
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Lead
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1.5 µg/m3
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Quarterly Average
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Same as Primary
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Attainment |
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Nitrogen Dioxide
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0.053 ppm
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Annual (Arithmetic Mean)
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Same as Primary
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Attainment |
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(100 µg/m3)
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Particulate Matter (PM10)
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150 µg/m3
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24-hour(2)
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Same as Primary
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Attainment |
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Particulate Matter (PM2.5)
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15.0 µg/m3
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Annual (3) (Arith. Mean)
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Same as Primary
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Attainment |
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35 µg/m3
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24-hour(4)
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Same as Primary
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Attainment |
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Ozone
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0.075 ppm
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8-hour(5)
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Same as Primary
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Out of Attainment - Designation - Marginal for the following parishes: Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Livingston, and West Baton Rouge |
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Sulfur Oxides
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0.03 ppm
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Annual (Arith. Mean)
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-------
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Attainment |
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0.14 ppm
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24-hour(1)
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-------
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Attainment |
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-------
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3-hour(1)
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0.5 ppm
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(1300 µg/m3)
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Attainment |
(1) Not to be exceeded more than once per year. (2) Not to be exceeded more than once per year on average over 3 years. (3) To attain this standard, the 3-year average of the weighted annual mean PM2.5 concentrations from single or multiple community-oriented monitors must not exceed 15.0 µg/m3 (4) To attain this standard, the 3-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations at each population-oriented monitor within an area must not exceed 35 µg/m3 (effective December 17, 2006). (5) To attain this standard, the 3-year average of the fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations measured at each monitor within an area over each year must not exceed 0.08 ppm.
AMBIENT AIR MONITORING SITES
AMBIENT AIR MONITORING DATA
OTHER LINKS TO AIR QUALITY DATA
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