Imperial / Mexicali Residents Surveyed on Air Quality
The Imperial County Clean Air Initiative Group has published the results of its second clean air survey of Imperial and Mexicali residents. The survey assessed community concerns and perceptions regarding air quality issues in the Imperial Valley and Mexicali border region. See below for links to both surveys.
The 2005 survey found:
- The majority of border residents surveyed are concerned with the impact air quality has on their health and that of their children. Residents also make a connection between air pollution and asthma.
- There is a lack of awareness about local asthma programs available in the community for the majority of households.
- Residents felt that the government is not doing enough to protect residents from air pollution.
- While in the first survey Imperial County residents typically stated that neither residents nor individuals can play a role in improving air quality, in the second survey Imperial residents overwhelmingly felt that both residents and individuals can help improve air quality.
- In the 12 months prior to the survey the majority of participants had been exposed to radio, television, or newspaper advertisements regarding air pollution or ways to reduce it. Some participants in both regions were aware of the Clean Air Initiative and had been visited by a promotora regarding clean air or asthma. Participants in Imperial County, however, were more likely to have knowledge of the Clean Air Initiative and have been visited by a promotora (community health outreach worker) than residents of Mexicali. This finding is consistent with the finding that many Mexicali participants desired more home visits regarding clean air and pollution.
- When asked "Whose job is it to ensure clean air," over half of participants indicated that is everyone’s responsibility.
- Community residents expressed a willingness to take certain steps in becoming involved in these efforts. Across the board 90-100% of participants stated that they could take steps such as driving less, using air friendly products, not burning trash, and contacting government officials as a way to help improve air quality.
- Participants expressed the need for continued public awareness campaigns
regarding clean air, more home visits to educate households, air quality warnings for residents, and more enforcement of laws that aim to control air pollution (e.g. emission standards for cars and factories).
June 2005 survey
Imperial / Mexicali Clean Air Initiative
The purpose of the Clean Air Initiative is to improve air quality and health of citizens in Imperial County and the Mexicali border region. The Initiative uses a grassroots approach to provide advice to agencies which have jurisdiction in the area, conduct education and outreach to the public, advocate for effective clean air policy and support individuals doing projects related to air quality and health.
Clean Air Initiative Objectives:
To publish a minimum of six press releases a year about air quality and related health concerns impacting the Imperial and Mexicali Valleys.
- To hold a bi-national air quality conference for the public, political leaders and media which highlights air quality problems in the border region.
- To hold a workshop for a minimum of 35 educators to share and distribute health education resources that can be implemented in the classroom.
- To train promotoras to engage a minimum of 2,000 border residents on air quality and health concerns and to assist with four community health fairs.
- To communicate to the public information about the monitoring and emissions inventory system and to advocate for continued release of data.
- To advocate for local government support on both sides of the border, by December 2003, for the reduction of air contaminants released from power plants build along the border through collaboration with the Border Power Plant Working Group.
- To identify alternative technology and methods, by December 2003, that could be used to decrease air pollution in the border region, and communicate these to government agencies and the public by July, 2004.
- To engage in public policy issues selected from the following to protect public health, i.e., agricultural burning, use of clean fuels and pesticide use.
Membership
The Clean Air Initiative is coordinated by the American Lung Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties and members include representatives from government, health, media, education and community-based organizations in both Imperial County and Mexicali. Both individual and organizational members are welcome. The group meets monthly. For information contact Vivian.perez@usa.net or call Vivian Perez at (760) 356-5656 ext. 2.
Funding for the Clean Air Initiative has been generously provided by The California Endowment.
Imperial Valley Air Quality
The unhealthful air quality levels now observed in the Imperial Valley are in violation of federal and state standards on smog and particulate matter pollution. Imperial County suffers from some of the worst particulate air pollution in California, with some locations measuring more than ten times the maximum allowable federal standard. The Environmental Protection Administration says that significant harm to health occurs when the air contains more than 600 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter during a 24-hour period. In the Imperial Valley, particulate matter concentrations have been measured at double this level. The health affects are worsened asthma and respiratory disease, with loss of lung capacity and other serious diseases resulting from long term exposure. Children are especially at risk, as are the elderly, asthmatics, heavy outdoor exercisers, and those who have COPD or heart disease.
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