Environmental Update Main Environmental Justice Main Regional Projects Green Jobs and Climate Justice EJ Activist newsletter Meet the Activists Staff Contacts News Events Calendar Resources U.S.-Mexico Border Environmental Justice Program 444 Executive Center Blvd Suite 138 El Paso, TX 79902 Phone: 915-351-0474 Organizer: Mariana Chew-Sanchez mariana.chew@sierraclub.org

Regional Projects: U.S.-Mexico Border Read organizer Oliver Bernstein's essay, "Walking the Line: What Mexican activists can teach the U.S. about poverty and the planet," in Grist's "Poverty and the Environment" series. Campaign Highlights The Rio Grande between El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. When you drive into central El Paso, Texas, you can't miss the huge smokestack towering over the city, painted with the letters A-S-A-R-C-O. The American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) lead and copper smelter has held that place for more than a century. Five minutes from downtown El Paso and just across the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juárez—which together form the largest border metropolitan area in the world—ASARCO emitted hundreds of tons of lead, arsenic, and cadmium onto surrounding homes, schools, and businesses from 1887-1999. The ASARCO smelter is now poised to smelt again and release even more toxins into the area. ASARCO has already made too many of Juárez and El Paso's children sick with lead poisoning. Area families need a safe environment that is free of lead. That is why the Sierra Club has been leading the charge to keep the smelter closed and to hold ASARCO accountable for its environmental and public health abuses. Learn More Factsheet: Lead Poisoning from ASARCO (PDF) En Espanol: Envenenamiento de Plomo de ASARCO (PDF) New Study Shows ASARCO Smelter Responsible for Toxic Pollution in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico Communities (PDF) Visit the Environmental Law Program's ASARCO case page to learn more about the latest happenings About the Organizer Every day, Mariana Chew-Sanchez fights for social justice and environmental protection in two countries. Mariana supports communities in the United States and Mexico as they strive to make the border region cleaner and safer. She leads the charge against the industrial, commercial and municipal pollution that contaminates the area and threatens the health of the millions of people who live there. When Mariana is not taking on polluters, she is preparing her Environmental Science and Engineering Ph.D. dissertation on bi-national water policy for the El Paso/Ciudad Juarez region at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). She has a Master of Public Administration from UTEP, and a Bachelor of Science Agricultural Engineering from Universidad Autonoma de Chapingo, Mexico with a specialization in soil conservation in arid zones. She has authored and co-authored numerous published articles on the policy implications of groundwater studies and presented at national and international events. Mariana's professional experience includes working as an engineering consultant for multi-national organizations, the El Paso Water Taskforce and the Environmental Defense Fund. Get Involved Please email us with your contact information if you want to get involved in environmental justice issues along the border, or to alert us to an environmental injustice along the border. Oliver Bernstein: oliver.bernstein@sierraclub.org Mariana Chew: mariana.chew@sierraclub.org Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club