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PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENTS OF SPATIAL INFLUENCES IN THE AMBOS NOGALES REGION OF THE US-MEXICAN BORDER
Citation:
Smith, L., S Mukerjee, G. J. Monroy, AND F. E. Keene. PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENTS OF SPATIAL INFLUENCES IN THE AMBOS NOGALES REGION OF THE US-MEXICAN BORDER. SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 276(1-3):83-92, (2001).
Impact/Purpose:
1) Assess new and standard air monitoring devices to characterize PM and gaseous air pollutants that are being used in this task.
2) Develop advanced directional analysis techniques (with receptor modeling) to assess transboundary transport of air pollutants and other source impacts. Hypothesis to be tested: Can these wind sector analysis techniques help us identify source location and contribution of transboundary and other sources.
Objectives will be achieved by development of a detailed electronic database for application in the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) to perform statistical assessments and directional techniques on measurements from Border XXI studies, namely the Lower Rio Grande Valley Transboundary Air Pollution Project (TAPP) done in and near Brownsville, TX and Ambos Nogales Air Programs on Arizona/Sonora border. Research includes analysis of submicron PM and gaseous pollutant data from El Paso as part of "Measurement and Modeling of Air Pollutants in El Paso, Texas" study.
Description:
Ambient air measurements collected from 1994 to 1995 were used in a preliminary assessment of potential source and spatial influences in the Ambos Nogales border region (Nogales, Arizona, USA and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico). In this assessment, volatile organic compounds (VOC) and particulate matter (PM) species were used from four sites, two on either side of the border. An examination of median levels and principal component analysis indicated the dominance of soil dusts and mobile sources. Pairwise comparisons of sites for VOCs associated with mobile sources revealed statistically significant differences between sites in the central Nogales area vs. the two sites furthest from the border. Particulate lead at Mexican sites was higher and significantly different vs. US sites. Although further analyses are necessary, findings suggest that local and immediate mobile/other anthropogenic and soil dust influences are present throughout Nogales, with particulate lead from leaded motor vehicle exhaust or soldering operations being a possible influence on the Mexican side.
The US Environmental Protection Agency through its Office of Research and Development partially funded and collaborated in the research described here under Contract 68-D5-0049 to ManTech Environmental Technology, Inc. It has been subjected to the Agency review and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.