Study Suggests Asarco Will Benefit El Paso Economy

EL PASO, TX – A study released today by Asarcosuggests the company would have a big economic impact and create many jobs for the El Paso economy.

Asarco commissionedthe University ofTexas at El Pasoto do the study and released theresults at a news conference this morning.

According to the study, the re-opening of the copper smelter would create more than 1,800 jobs with salaries totaling $73,000,000.

At a separate news conference, El Paso State Senator Eliot Shapleigh, long an opponent of the copper smelter,argued that the study does notinclude the negative effects Asarco may have on the community, such as health-related costs from possible pollution.

Shapleigh also statedthebenefits of new jobsthat may be created byAsarco will not offset the negative effectsit will have on theEl Paso economy in the long run.

“There are a few hundred jobs…what’s at stake here is a few thousand jobs…when you try to build a downtown and a medical school, who’s going to say: ‘I want to research diabetes at a medical center under these living conditions?’… It’ll be a place top researchers won’t come to,” he stated.

The topic of Asarco willbe addressedat a special meeting between the mayors and city councils of El Paso, Juarez and Sunland Park. The impact of the smelter on the area’s environment, health and economic development will be discussed.