SENATOR SHAPLEIGH TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE ON UTEP-ASARCO STUDY
May 30, 2007
"Our community cannot move to a 21st century knowledge-based economy with a 19th century polluting relic in the midst of our downtown and right next to our university. What Asarco's study fails to show is what 13.3 million pounds of pollution will cost us in health, high tech and quality of life."
Written by Senator Eliot Shapleigh, www.shapleigh.org
EL PASO – Senator Shapleigh will hold a press conference today May 30 at 4:00 p.m. to address a recently released UTEP-Asarco study on Asarco's impact on El Paso. According to Mathew McElroy, Associate Director with UTEP's Institute for Public and Economic Development, the study represents a first-phase analysis and does not include "negative amenity effects" such as job losses and health-related costs due to Asarco's contamination of our region.
If renewed, Asarco's air permit would allow it to pollute El Paso's air with over 6,600 tons of sulfur dioxide per year, which amounts to 13,346,300 pounds per year.[1]
| Pollutants (tons per year) | Allowables |
| Lead | 7.69 |
| Oxides of Nitrogen | 230.04 |
| Carbon Monoxide | 287.68 |
| Volatile Organic Compounds | 7.66 |
| Sulfur Dioxide | 6,673.15 |
| Particulate Matter | 352.60 |
| Particulate Matter (equal to or less than 10) | 349.64 |
| Sulfuric Acid | 16.21 |
The smelter has been closed since 1999, and the City of El Paso, the City of Juarez, and the City of Sunland Park, New Mexico have all passed resolutions against the new permit.[2]
Additionally, this Thursday, May 31, the El Paso, Sunland Park and Juárez city councils will conduct a historic joint meeting, at the intersection of the U.S.-Mexico border and two state lines, to address three resolutions against the reopening of the Asarco smelter.
"Our community cannot move to a 21st century knowledge-based economy with a 19th century polluting relic in the midst of our downtown and right next to our university," said Senator Shapleigh. "What Asarco's study fails to show is what 13.3 million pounds of pollution will cost us in health, high tech and quality of life."
What: UTEP-Asarco economic impact study
When: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 4:00 p.m.
Where: Upper Tom Lea Park, Rim Road
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[1] Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Air Quality Permit No. 20345.
[2] Mark Muecke, "El Pasoans in Austin to oppose Asarco reopening," El Paso Times, March 28, 2007; Tika Milan, "The Dark Side of the Rio Grande: Tika Milan Reports on Asarco's Texas Refinery," Rolling Stone, March 9, 2007.
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