Contaminación Atmosférica y medidas para combatirla en El Paso, Texas

Abstract

Air pollution is not an isolated problem, affecting one region or country, but is present everywhere that man is active

There was a time when smoke coming out of chimneys was viewed as a sign of economic progress, and very little attention was paid to its effect on man's health. Today, man, conscious of the hazards of these environmental contaminants, strives to find a way of alleviating the problem

The border towns of El Paso, Texas, U.S.A., and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, whose combined population approximates 850,000 inhabitants, have not escaped the problem of air pollution

According to a study carried out in El Paso, it was determined that air particles, gas fumes produced by motor vehicles and industrial air pollutants, had reached a geometric mean of 125 ug/m3 in all sites sampled during the 30-day period. The presence of carbon monoxide was measured constantly during the course of the study and it was discovered that its content in the environment ranged between 0 and 18 ppm. Other contaminants such as nitrogen dioxide and ozone were also measured

In the fight against air pollution, the State of Texas has already passed laws and imposed standards for certain contaminants. However, since contamination does not recognize borders and since the joint population of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez will reach a level of about 1.5 million by 1985, it will also be necessary to initiate ... (AU)