Brown Haze Raises Concern About Air-Quality Health
By Martin Bartlett
EL PASO — Some have raised concerns about the haze that lingers about the city and whether it should be considered a health risk.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said the ‘brown haze’ that seems to never go away, though aesthetically displeasing to the eye, is not reason to be alarmed for health risks.
Officials with the TCEQ said there are fewer of these hazy days due to increased cooperation with their Mexican counterparts in Ciudad Juarez.
Much of what is seen comes from unpaved dirt roads, controlled open burning and different fuels which don’t burn quite the same as those in the U.S.
The implication of these particles in theair may sounddismal, but the state agency charged with monitoring air quality and the amount of particulate matter said it’s only measuring low levels of pollutants.
Archie Clouse with the TCEQ said residents in both cities can rest assured that air-quality is closely being watched.
“Although you do see the haze — all of our monitors here in the El Paso area are indicating pollutants in the good levels,” Clouse said.
ABC-7 meteorologist Amber Sullins explained some of why the haze ‘hangs out’ in our neighborhood.
“We’ve had that cloud coverage. Which iswhy[the atmosphere]has been trapping the pollution close to the earth — just letting it hang out there,” Sullins said.
