Release date: 08/15/2008
Contact Information: Francisco Arcaute
Cell (213) 798-1404
arcaute.francisco@epa.gov
(8/15/2008 -- LOS ANGELES) Environmental Secretaries from all ten U.S. – Mexico border states met today in Hollywood, Calif., to sign the Tire Initiative Letter of Understanding, which implements tire pile prevention measures and strives to eliminate tire piles public health risks. To date, 4 million tires have been removed by Border 2012 Program Partners.
Scrap tire fires are difficult to extinguish, and can burn for weeks or months. Tire fires release thick black smoke and can contaminate the soil with an oily residue. Furthermore, tire pile fires generate large amounts of liquid waste that contaminate soil and ground and surface water.
Collaboration has extended beyond the federal environmental level as states and municipalities on both sides of the border and private industry, notably the U.S. Rubber Manufactures Association, have joined in implementing the Tire Initiative’s tire pile prevention measures.
The EPA’s Border 2012 U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program works to protect the environment and public health for 10 states on both sides of the 2,000-mile border, including 26 U.S. tribes and seven groups of Mexican indigenous people. Border 2012 seeks to reduce pollution in water, air, and on land, reduce exposure to chemicals from accidental releases or terrorism, and improve environmental stewardship.
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