BookSCO_84928865406

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014. All rights are reserved. The United States - Mexico border region have experienced high economic and population growth which have led to environmental consequences, such as air pollution, that affect human health. The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of air quality on public health for the South Texas - Northeastern Mexico border region by means of environmental health indicators that correlate air quality data with epidemiological data for respiratory and cardiovascular illness, and facilitates interpretation of outcomes and trends. The study established that particulate matter (PM), both PM10 and PM2.5, have a significant effect on heart disease, stroke, and asthma in South Texas. The data show that asthma is prevalent along the border region, and for the Mexican State of Tamaulipas, the study demonstrated a higher correlation between PM10 and asthma than any other disease. The study also shows a statistically strong correlation between ambient ozone (O3) concentrations and mortality due to heart disease. Although some correlation appears to exist between other air pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO), O3 and PM2.5 with mortality rates due to stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease (CLRD), and with morbidity rate due to asthma, the statistical significance of these correlations were not supported by the t-test results.

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