The state regulation also surpasses the federal regulation. The state list of regulated chemicals includes the federal toxic air pollutants and adds others which are of particular concern in Louisiana, such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. Louisiana's current toxic air pollutant control program covers over 200 pollutants, and tracks toxic air emissions from over 250 industrial facilities. Under this program, facilities must report annual emission totals to DEQ's Toxic Emission Data Inventory. The goal of reducing statewide air toxic emissions by 50 percent from 1987 levels has been achieved.
Toxic emissions are down across a broad spectrum of sources.
For example, benzene emissions have decreased statewide by 58 percent, while hydrogen sulfide emissions are 83 percent lower than in 1987. This trend downward is expected to continue. This document is available on EPA's web site. See Taking Toxics Out of the Air. For more information about toxic air pollutants, visit EPA's Unified Air Toxics WebSite.