Risky Borders: Traffic Pollution and Health Effects at US–Mexican Ports of Entry

Autor: José Guillermo Rodríguez-Ventura, Paula Stigler Granados, Gabriela Muñoz-Meléndez, Penelope J.E. Quintana, Margarito Quintero-Núñez, Paul Ganster
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Borderlands Studies. 30:287-307
ISSN: 2159-1229
0886-5655
DOI: 10.1080/08865655.2015.1066697
Popis: Delays and community traffic problems associated with US–Mexican border ports of entry have been criticized for causing economic losses and increasing social stressors. This paper draws attention to an overlooked issue, the potential for adverse health effects associated with being exposed to localized high levels of traffic pollutants on border crossers and nearby communities at ports of entry along the US–Mexican border. The literature on health effects of exposure to near-road traffic pollution is incorporated into an analysis of the situation along the US–Mexican border. This paper synthesizes the information available regarding excessive wait times at the border and describes preliminary studies linking these delays to elevated traffic pollution levels. We frame exposure to traffic pollutants at US–Mexican ports of entry as an environmental justice issue in that the burden of exposures and associated risks of health effects is borne by nearby low income minority communities. Mitigation strate...
Databáze: OpenAIRE