Mexico City aerosol study

Conference · Thu Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:7028557

Falcon, Y I ^[1]; Ramirez, C R ^[2]

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1. Subsecretaria de Ecologia, (MX)
2. Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Mexico City (Mexico)

Mexico City is located in a valley at high elevation (2,268 m) and is subject to atmospheric inversion related problems similar to those found in Denver, Colorado. In addition, Mexico City has a tropical climate (latitude 19{degrees} 25 minutes N), and therefore has more sunlight available for production of photochemical smog. There are approximately 9.5 million people spread in a 1,500 km{sup 2} (25 sq. mi) urban area, and more than two million automobiles (D.G.P.T. 1979) which use leaded gasoline. Furthermore, Mexico City is the principal industrial center in the country with more than 131,000 industries. The growth of the city has led to a serious air pollution problem, and there is concern over the possible pollutant effects on human health. The authors discuss work done to characterize the chemical composition of the aerosol. It is shown that many of the organic compounds which have been detected in urban aerosols are carcinogens.

• OSTI ID: 7028557
• Report Number(s): CONF-880679--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290300 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
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AIR QUALITY
ANIMALS
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CHEMICAL PLANTS
CHEMISTRY
COLLOIDS
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DISEASES
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ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
HAZARDS
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HYDROCARBONS
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