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Border Environmental Research Project
The air quality along the U.S.-Mexico border is considered to be one of the most serious environmental health concerns facing our region. The majority of the problems with air quality come in the form of windblown dust particles. Some causes of windblown dust include recently tilled fields, vacant and cleared lots, unpaved roads, and the natural desert. Inhaling this dust can cause headaches, breathing difficulty, damage to lung tissue, as well as aggravating existing lung problems. Additionally, windblown dust reduces visibility on major highways causing a serious traffic hazard.
The Columbus, NM and Puerto Palomas, Chih. communities expressed concerns regarding their air quality to the Environmental Protection Agency Border 2012 Rural Task Force. These concerns prompted the Border Epidemiology and Environmental Health Center and the New Mexico Department of Health Office of Border Health to apply for a grant to study air quality in that area. The grant, funded by the Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research and Policy (SCERP), was awarded in April of 2005. The total award is over $58,000.
In September 2005, Dan Galindo, an air monitor expert from the New Mexico Environment Department, placed one PM10 air quality monitor in each of the Columbus and Puerto Palomas communities. Also, a PM2.5 air quality monitor was placed at a relatively neutral location close to both areas. The monitors have been collecting data, minus a few technical problems, for the last two months. The data that is being collected will help provide baseline information on air quality and pollutants in these rural communities along the border.
Once the data is analyzed remediation can be formulated. Eventually, a plan can be put into place that will help control the sources of windblown dust where possible. The project is the first of its kind in the Columbus and Puerto Palomas area.