Air quality for a sustainable California, U.S.-Baja California, Mexico border region (original) (raw)
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Issues Related to Air Quality and Health in the California-Baja California Border Region
A rapidly increasing population living in a diverse and dynamic region, stark differences in air quality, economic disparity, lack of harmonized data, insufficient resources or technology, and different perspectives on the quality of the environment-these are just a few of the challenges found in the California-Baja California border region. This chapter discusses a number of these challenges and proposes recommendations and solutions.
Air quality in the california-baja california border region
The US mexican border …, 2003
This chapter offers a comprehensive description of the climate geomorphology, economy, transportation, and energy setting and the resultant air quality conditions in California's and Baja California's two airbasins-San Diego-Tijuana and Imperial Valley-Mexicali. Rapid population growth, expanded industrialization-including that of maquiladora plants-and extreme congestion at border crossings by cars and light-and heavy-duty trucks, exacerbate an already dire situation. While the region has significant solar, geothermal, and wind resources, it continues to import fuels and electricity. Monitoring of air quality at binational sites has improved dramatically in the last five years, contributing to a better understanding of airbasin dynamics. Future progress on the overall issue is possible, thanks to past efforts to monitor and model the airbasin. The authors also point out several short-and long-term, technical, and institutional recommended measures that would improve air quality in the region.
The Program to Improve the Air Quality of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico 2010-2015
Procedia Environmental Sciences, 2010
The program to improve the air quality of Mexicali 2010-2015 (PROAIR) represents the joint effort of the society, of the local economic sector and the three levels of government to design and implant a set of actions with the objective of controlling the sources of pollutants that degrade the air quality of the city. Due to its great urban dynamism, industry and entrepreneural activities, as much as its position in the neighborhood with the USA, Mexicali plays an important role in the national economy and makes it one of the most important cities at the USA-Mexican border. The growth of the city brings along social and economic benefits, and also problems related with the urban development and with the availability of infrastructure and services, which at the same time generates problems of environmental type. The analysis of the air quality was based on 11 years (1997-2008) of accumulated data from 6 monitoring stations located in the city, period on which the first PROAIR of Mexicali 2000-2005 was put into practice. The most important findings are described as follows: exceedences by O 3 and NO 2 diminished since 1997. CO is the pollutant with the greater amount of exceedences registered, specially in the winter. SO 2 did not show violations to the norm at any time. PM 10 showed exceedences for most part of the year as much as PM 2.5. Based on that Mexicali is classified as non-attainment for CO, PM 10 and PM 2.5 .
Techniques to assess cross-border air pollution and application to a US-Mexico border region
Science of The Total Environment, 2001
A year-long assessment of cross-border air pollution was conducted in the eastmost section of the US-Mexico border region, known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley, in South Texas. Measurements were conducted on the US side and included fine particle mass (PM2.5) and elemental composition, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and meteorology. Wind sector analyses of chemical tracers and diagnostic ratios, in addition to principal component analysis (PCA), were initially applied to assess cross-border and overall air shed influences. Linear-angular correlation statistics [Biometrika, 63, (1976), 403–405] and nonparametric multiple comparisons between wind sectors were computed with the particle element data using principal component scores from PCA to determine the direction of source classes. Findings suggest crustal particles and salts carried or stirred by sea breeze winds from a southerly and southeasterly direction from the Gulf of Mexico heavily influenced the elemental composition of the particulate samples. Pair-wise comparisons of wind directions for the principal component scores suggest possible oil combustion influences from utilities or boilers coming from the south and possible coal combustion influences from the north and northwest. The techniques discussed can provide a methodology to assess future ambient levels and cross-border influences in the Valley as conditions change.
scerpfiles.org
The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) has become a region of increasing interest because of its rapid economic development, increased international border crossing traffic, and extensive agricultural activities. Over the past few years, air pollution problems in the region have substantially increased. However, very few air quality studies have been performed in the area. This paper provides a characterization of air pollutant dynamics and a model in the LRGV, which include the comprehensive interactions of criteria pollutants, VOC's/SVOC's (volatile organic compounds/semi-volatile organic compounds) and fine particulate matter (PM fine ). The analysis involved researchers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border. A highly mobile monitoring station equipped with a broad array of physical and chemical samplers and sensors was used in December 1995 and March 1998. PM 10 / PM 2.5 and oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) (the latter only in the March 1998 study) concentrations were measured in Reynosa, Río Bravo, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas; Hidalgo,
A preliminary assessment of the sensitivity of air quality in California to global change
Climatic Change, 2008
A regional air quality model was used to quantify the effect of temperature, humidity, mixing depth, and background concentrations on ozone (O 3) and airborne particulate matter during three air quality episodes in California. Increasing temperature with no change in absolute humidity promoted the formation of O 3 by +2 to +9 ppb K −1 through increased reaction rates. Increasing temperature with no change in relative humidity increased predicted O 3 concentrations by +2 to +15 ppb K −1 through enhanced production of hydroxyl radical combined with increased reaction rates. Increasing mixing depth promoted the formation of O 3 in regions with an overabundance of fresh NO emissions (such as central Los Angeles) by providing extra dilution. Increasing temperature with no change in absolute humidity reduced particle water content and promoted the evaporation of ammonium nitrate at a rate of −3 to −7 μg m −3 K −1. Increasing temperature with no change in relative humidity maintained particle water content and moderated ammonium nitrate evaporation rates to a maximum value of −3 μg m −3 K −1 during warmer episodes and increased ammonium nitrate condensation by +1.5 μg m −3 K −1 during colder episodes. Increasing mixing depth reduced the concentration of primary particulate matter but increased the formation of secondary particulate matter in regions with an overabundance of fresh NO emissions. O 3 transported into California from upwind areas enhanced the formation of particulate nitrate by promoting the formation of N 2 O 5 and HNO 3 at night. A 30 ppb increase in background O 3 concentrations (roughly doubling current levels) increased maximum PM 2.5 concentrations by +7 to +16 μg m −3 even when temperature was simultaneously increased by +5 K with no change in absolute humidity (most unfavorable conditions for nitrate formation). 1 Introduction California's combination of large urban populations situated in confined air basins that are subject to severe air pollution events causes significant public health concerns. Ozone (O 3