Applegate, Howard G.

Bath, Richard

English

University of New Mexico

Volume 18 
Issue 1 Symposium on U.S. - Mexican Transboundary Resources, Part II 
Winter 1978 
Air Pollution along the United States-Mexico Border with 
Emphasis on the El Paso - Ciudad Juarez-Las Cruces Air Shed 
Howard G. Applegate 
Richard Bath 
Recommended Citation 
Howard G. Applegate & Richard Bath, Air Pollution along the United States-Mexico Border with Emphasis 
on the El Paso - Ciudad Juarez-Las Cruces Air Shed, 18 Nat. Resources J. 91 (1978). 
Available at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nrj/vol18/iss1/8 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UNM Digital Repository. It has been 
accepted for inclusion in Natural Resources Journal by an authorized editor of UNM Digital Repository. For more 
information, please contact amywinter@unm.edu, lsloane@salud.unm.edu, sarahrk@unm.edu. 
AIR POLLUTION ALONG THE UNITED STATES-
MEXICO BORDER WITH EMPHASIS ON THE
EL PASO-CIUDAD JUAREZ-LAS CRUCES AIR SHED
HOWARD G. APPLEGATE* and C. RICHARD BATH**
Air pollution problems between the United States and Mexico have
been delineated in two publications.1 That problems do exist is
evident to any one visiting either the San Diego-Tijuana area or the
El Paso-Ciudad Juarez area. The binational problem is complicated
by the laws of the six states in Mexico and the four states in the United
States that abut the border. To complicate the picture, there is the La
Frontera Zone in Mexico while in the United States there are 25
counties and two federal districts that are involved as distinct
political entities.
AIR POLLUTION ALONG THE ENTIRE BORDER
An attempt was made in 1973 to quantify pollutants emitted into
the air on both sides of the border. For the United States side
Haneman (open burning),2 Hanselka (agriculture),3 Shoults (indus-
try),4 and Russel (vehicles)5 presented the best available data; data
from Mexico were presented by Garibay (burning),6 Sanchez (agricul-
ture),7 Marquez (industry)8 and Barojas (vehicles).9
It is probably easiest to determine pollution from point sources. For
that reason, some of the data from Shoults are presented here in an
effort to give an idea of the magnitude of the air pollution problem
*Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Texas, El Paso.
-Professor of Political Science, University of Texas, El Paso.
1. POLLUTION AND INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES (A. Utton ed. 1973); AIR
POLLUTION ALONG THE UNITED STATES-MEXICO BORDER (H. Applegate & C. Bath
eds. 1974) [hereinafter cited as Applegate & Bath].
2. Haneman, Open Burning. in Applegate & Bath, supra note 1, at 1.
3. Hanselka, Air Pollution Potential From Agriculture Along the Texas-Mexico Border, in
Applegate & Bath, supra note 1, at 15.
4. Shoults, Air Pollution from United States Industrial Sources Along the United States-
Mexico Border, in Applegate & Bath, supra note 1, at 28.
5. Russel, Vehicular Air Pollution in the United States Along the Border, in Applegate &
Bath, supra note 1, at 42.
6. Garibay M., Contaminacibn del Aire en Las Cuidades Fronterizas Mexicanas, in Applegate
& Bath, supra note 1, at 7.
7. Sanchez Duran, Contaminacibn del Aire por Actividades Agrlcolas en Mbxico a lo largo de
la Frontera, in Applegate & Bath, supra note 1, at 22.
8. Marquez Mayaudon, Contaminacibn del Aire por Industrias en Mbxico a lo largo de la
Frontera Norte, in Applegate & Bath, supra note 1, at 34.
9. Barojas Weber, Contaminacibn del Aire por Vehiculos en Mkxico a lo largo de la Frontera,
in Applegate & Bath, supra note 1, at 50.
NATURAL RESOURCES JOURNAL
along the border. Table 1 presents a summary of point source
emissions while Table 2 compares the United States nationwide
emissions with those from border counties. Sulfur oxides are by far
the greatest in tonnage. Most of these are from smelters concentrated
in a 360 mile linear distance extending from El Paso, Texas to Ajo,
Arizona. Particulate emissions were second in tonnage. Chief contrib-
utors were quarrying, concrete, and asphaltic concrete batching and
cement processing. Carbon monoxide is the third highest quantity
with the principal contributors being petroleum refining, petrochem-
ical and chemical process industries. Oxides of nitrogen and hydrocar-
bons are last in quantity. For oxides of nitrogen the chief contributors
TABLE 1
State Point Source Emissions Along the United States-Mexico Border-1970
(metric tons)
STATE PA SO NO HC CO
x x
TEXAS 38,286 256,187 34,147 23,590 112,247
NEW MEXICO 37,583 224,623 8,145 2,399 3,899
ARIZONA 35,294 525,345 6,215 642 4,033
CALIFORNIA 59,568 7,649 19,503 5,838 3,037
TOTAL 170,731 1,013,804 68,010 32,459 123,216
Only emissions from counties adjoining the border are included.
Source: Shoults, Air Pollution from United States Industrial Sources Along the United
States-Mexico Border, in AIR POLLUTION ALONG THE UNITED STATES-
MEXICO BORDER 31 (H. Applegate & C. Bath eds. 1974).
TABLE 2
Percent Contribution of United States Counties Bordering on
Mexico to Total United States Pollution-1970
(106 metric tons)
PA SO NO HC COx x
United States- 12.07 5.44 0.18 4.99 10.34
nationwide
United States-Mexico 0.17 1.01 0.06 0.03 0.13
border counties
Percent emission 1.41 18.56 37.77 0.66 1.25
along Border
Source: Shoults, Air Pollution from United States Industrial Sources Along the United
States-Mexico Border in AIR POLLUTION ALONG THE UNITED STATES-
MEXICO BORDER 33 (H. Applegate & C. Bath eds. 1974).
[Vol. 18
AIR POLLUTION
are industrial and electric power fuel combustion; for hydrocarbons,
chemical process industries and petroleum refining are the principal
contributors.
EL PASO-CIUDAD JUAREZ-LAS CRUCES
The El Paso-Ciudad Juarez-Las Cruces complex (EPJAZ( is one of
the most populated and greatly industrialized areas of the border. The
three cities have recognized the fact that they share a common air
shed, underground aquifer, and economy. They have a long history of
cooperative efforts to solve common problems. The success of these
efforts is due, in a large measure, to the impartial efforts of the field
office of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) located in El
Paso.
From February 1972 until December 1976 the three cities, under
the leadership of PAHO, undertook a survey of their common air
shed.10 The data are presented in Tables 3 through 10. An inspection
of the data allows the following conclusions to be drawn.
1. There are eight major point sources of air contaminants-a
primary copper, lead, and zinc smelter; a municipal solid
waste disposal site; two cement plants; two petroleum re-
fineries; and two large brick plants.
2. There are two line sources of pollution: unpaved streets and
vehicular transportation.
3. Commercial areas are more polluted than residential areas,
which, in turn, are more polluted than rural areas.
TABLE 3
Industrial Process Losses for 1972 in AQCR XI
Pollutant Tons/Year
Oxides of Nitrogen 50'219
Sulfur Dioxide 771269
Hydrocarbons 857180
Carbon Monoxide 2710431
Particulates 467589
Source: S. Gomez, R. Flores Herrera, R. Kretzschmar, R. McKeag, J. Shoults, G. Sanchez
Trujillo & G. Davila, Progress Report on Air Pollution Survey in El Paso-Ciudad
Juarez-Las Cruces Area: February 1972-December 1974, at 11 (mimeograph
1975).
10. S. Gomez, R. Flores Herrera, R. Kretzschmar, R. McKeag, J. Shoults, G. Sanchez Trujillo
& G. Davila, Progress Report on Air Pollution Survey in El Paso-Ciudad Juarez-Las Cruces
Area: February 1972-December 1974 (mimeograph 1975).
January 19781
NATURAL RESOURCES JOURNAL
TABLE 4
1972 Industrial Point Source Pollutants-Dona Ana County
Pollu tan t Tons/Year
Particulates 1084
Sulfur Dioxide 329
Oxides of Nitrogen 1623
Hydrocarbons 233
Carbon Monoxide 18
Source: S. Gomez, R. Flores Herrera, R. Kretzschmar, R. McKeag, J. Shoults, G. Sanchez
Trujillo & G. Davila, Progress Report on Air Pollution Survey in El Paso-Ciudad
Juarez-Las Cruces Area: February 1972-December 1974, at 12 (mimeograph
1975).
TABLE 5
Major Stationary Sources of Pollution in Cd. Juarez
Industry Production
Hot mix asphalt plant 400 tons per day
Cement plant 300 tons per day
Brick plant 500000 bricks per month
Municipal disposal site ?
Source: S. Gomez, R. Flores Herrera, R. Kretzschmar, R. McKeag, J. Shoults, G. Sanchez
Trujillo & G. Davila, Progress Report on Air Pollution Survey in El Paso-Ciudad
Juarez-Las Cruces Area: February 1972-December 1974, at 12 (mimeograph
1975).
TABLE 6
Mobile Sources of Pollution
Area Amount
El Paso County 227000 Registered vehicles (est)
Las Cruces 59000 Registered vehicles (est)
Cd. Juarez 97000 (est)
Military Reservations 20000 (est)
Border Crossings 12 million per year (into U.S.)
Source: S. Gomez, R. Flores Herrera, R. Kretzschmar, R. McKeag, J. Shoults, G. Sanchez
Trujillo & G. Davila, Progress Report on Air Pollution Survey in El Paso-Ciudad
Juarez-Las Cruces Area: February 1972-December 1974, at 13 (mimeograph
1975).
[Vol. 18
AIR POLL UTION
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January 1978]
NATURAL RESOURCES JOURNAL
TABLE 9
Suspended Particulate Levels in Residential Areas
(ug/M 3 )
El Paso Cd. Juarez
Geo. Geo.
Min. Max. Mean Min. Max. Mean
1972 51 1884 119 64 708 199
1973 25 739 112 42 698 129
1974 31 249 110 57 671 107
U.S. National Primary Ambient Air Standard For Particulates: 75 ug/M 3 , Annual Geo.
Mean.
Source: S. Gomez, R. Flores Herrera, R. Kretzschmar, R. McKeag, J. Shoults, G. Sanchez
Trujillo & G. Davila, Progress Report on Air Pollution Survey in El Paso-Ciudad
Juarez-Las Cruces Area: February 1972-December 1974, at 21 (mimeograph
1975).
TABLE 10
Benezene Soluble Levels-1974
(ug/M 3 )
Location Concentrations
Arith.
Min. Max. Mean
Cd. Juarez
Aeropuerto (rural) 1.5 15.0 4.4
Centro de salud B (commercial) 7.8 107.7 28.8
Compestre (residential) 1.1 60.8 9.7
El Paso County
Clint (rural) 2.4 15.9 6.8
Tillman (commercial) 2.1 5.6 3.9
Thomas Manor (residential) 1.2 3.3 1.9
Dona Ana County
Anthony (rural) 0.2 7.0 2.3
Las Cruces (commercial) 0.2 5.3 2.3
Source: S. Gomez, R. Flores Herrera, R. Kretzschmar, R. McKeag, J. Shoults, G. Sanchez
Trujillo & G. Davila, Progress Report on Air Pollution Survey in El Paso-Ciudad
Juarez-Las Cruces Area: February 1972-December 1974, at 23 (mimeograph
1975).
[Vol. 18
AIR POLLUTION
4. In general, the air of Ciudad Juarez is more polluted than the
air of El Paso, which, in turn, is more polluted than the air
of Las Cruces.
The report concluded with an assessment that the binational
program was a success and recommended further action of a similar
nature in the future.
UNIVERSITY CONSORTIUM
There are five universities within the EPJAZ area: The University
of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), New Mexico State University in Las
Cruces (NMSU), Instituto Tecnologico de Cd. Juarez (ITCJ), Uni-
versidad Autonoma de Cd. Juarez (UACJ), and Escuela Superior de
Agricultura "Hermanos Escobar." UTEP took the lead in suggesting
they work jointly on common environmental problems within the
EPJAZ area. After a series of meetings, the chief officers of each
university signed the following agreement on January 22, 1976:
BASES OF COLLABORATION ON INTER-UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS
CONCERNING
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT IN THE EL PASO-JUAREZ AREA
1. Definition of Goals
The goals to be achieved by this plan are the following:
1.1 To promote local student awareness of the need for studying
and preserving the environment by using the resources of
the five participating universities.
1.2 To complement the professional training of graduate stu-
dents in this field.
1.3 To contribute to the institutional development of the uni-
versities in the environmental field.
1.4 To contribute to environmental improvement in the region
by collaboration with competent authorities.
2. Statement of Activities for the achievement of these goals.
2.1 To investigate the need and the possibility of establishing
the required curriculum in order to conduct courses on en-
vironmental improvement.
2.2 To interchange information, publications and experiences.
2.3 To utilize in a mutually advantageous manner joint facilities
and services devoted to these activities.
2.4 To conduct seminars, workshops and lectures.
2.5 Faculty interchange.
2.6 Student interchange.
2.7 To conduct studies and research in order to define and to
resolve the environmental problems of the region.
January 19781
NATURAL RESOURCES JOURNAL
2.8 To offer services, advice and technical orientation to the
competent organizations.
3. The activities of this plan will be implemented in accor-
dance with the adoption of semester programs which will
run in the common academic sessions already established by
all the participating institutions.
Prior to the official signing, however, joint research had already
been initiated. UTEP and UACT had set up seven sampling stations
in Juarez to help determine diffusion patterns within the air shed. The
data have been the basis of one doctorate degree and a research
proposal to further study the diffusion patterns. Another study is being
prepared on viruses in water for the 77-78 irrigation system.
CONSORTIUM-GOVERNMENTAL INTERACTIONS
Heavy metals as air pollutants have been investigated both
individually and jointly by the university consortium and governmen-
tal agencies. These elements were brought to everyone's attention
during the trial of the American Smelting and Refining Company on
violating air quality standards in El Paso. It was shown that the
smelter emitted 1,012 metric tons of lead, 508 metric tons of zinc, and
1 metric ton of arsenic into the air from 1969 through 1971. The El
Paso City County Health Unit determined ambient concentrations of
cadmium, arsenic, lead, and zinc from May 1972 to April 1976. These
data are in the process of being readied for publication. A brief
summary of some of the data are given in Table 11.
Some concept of the seriousness of these values can be gained from
the following comparisons:
1. Five year minimum value of cadmium at Highland Elemen-
tary School was three times the concentration (0.007 ug/m 3)
believed to lead to increased deaths due to cardiovascular disease.
2. The threshold limit value for arsenic for industry is 0.5
mg/m 3; the 24-hour maximum value over a five year period for
the International Boundary and Water Commission shop was 0.1
mg/m 3
.
3. When the air lead concentrations exceeds 2 ug/m 3, a
statistical correlation can be established between lead in the air
and lead in the blood; over a five year period, air lead
concentrations at the IBWC shop consistently exceeded 2 ug/m 3,
and concentrations at the Tillman Health Center usually exceeded
2 ug/m 3.
4. The present recommendation by the American Conference
of Governmental Industrial Hygienists for zinc is 5 mg/m 3 per 8
hours; no site approached this level.
[Vol. 18
AIR POLLUTION
TABLE 11
Ambient Concentrations of Cadium, Arsenic, Lead and Zinc
from May 1972 to April, 1976
Five Year
24 Hr.
Site Max. Mean Max. Min.
Cadmium
IBWCa 5.451d 0.408 0.563 0.348
Highland Schoolb  0.190 0.027 0.034 0.021
Tillmanc 0.307 0.050 0.060 0.040
Arsenic
IBWC 10.766 0.616 0.962 0.296
Highland School 0.154 0.034 0.045 0.023
Tilman 2.187 0.080 0.099 0.067
Lead
IBWC 67.8 7.220 10.0 5.0
Highland School 5.1 0.586 0.6 1.8
Tillman 9.21 1.664 1.5 4.0
Zinc
IBWC 48.1 5.5 8.3 3.9
Highland School 2.0 0.2 0.28 0.20
Tillman 5.9 0.7 0.74 0.56
a. IBWC = International Boundary and Water Commission Shop, approximately 270 feet
from ASARCO.
b. Highland Elementary School, approximately 4 miles east of ASARCO.
c. Tillman Health Center, approximately 4 miles south southeast of ASARCO.
d. Micrograms per cubic meter of air.
A year long study of diffusion patterns within the EPJAZ air shed
was carried out by the consortium and environmental units of the
respective cities. As might be expected, the mountainous terrain
caused very complex diffusion patterns. There appear to be pockets of
circling air masses within certain areas that lead to high concentra-
tions of pollutants. In addition, microbial populations in the soil can
biotransform the inorganic forms of the metals into organic com-
pounds most of which are quite toxic.
RESUMEN
La regulaci6n efectiva de los recursos del aire a lo largo de la
frontera estadounidense-mexicana dependerA de la percepci6n del
problema del fondo. Hay tres diferentes niveles de analisis y modos
de plantear que se puede emplear para resolver el tipo de instituci6n
de la que se puede manejar los recursos naturales fronterizos: 1) el
analisis mundial-ecosistematico; 2) el analisis internacional o bi-
January 1978]
100 NATURAL RESOURCES JOURNAL [Vol. 18
nacional y; 3) el analisis simplemente nacional. Parece en este
momento que el analisis (y resoluci6n) mundial es imposible. El
analisis internacional/bi-nacional pareceri basado en la falta de
percepci6n de que la poluci6n es un problema critico. Hay otros
problemas mis criticos y mis importantes a lo largo de la frontera y,
por eso, la cooperaci6n entre los dos gobiernos deberi ser al nivel bajo
con costos minimos Una agencia existente que se puede emplear para
facilitar tal cooperaci6n es la Comisi6n Intemacional de Limites y
Aguas M6xico-Estados Unidos, aunque es necesario aumentar los
poderes oficiales de la comisi6n para manejar los problemas del medio
ambiente. Al nivel nacional qualqueir esfuerzo debe estar hecho para
hacer cumplir las regulaci6nes existentes sobre los problemas del
medio ambiente. En este momento, y en el futuro cercano, el modo de
plantear mis productivo deberfa ser la cooperaci6n en el entrena-
miento y la investigaci6n cientifica por los grupos privados, indivi-
duos, universidades, y otros.


Air Pollution along the United States-Mexico Border with Emphasis on the El Paso - Ciudad Juarez-Las Cruces Air Shed

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Air Pollution along the United States-Mexico Border with Emphasis on the El Paso - Ciudad Juarez-Las Cruces Air Shed

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