Air Quality Regarding to TSP in Six Cities of Sonora, Mexico, a Criticism to the NOM-025-SSA1-1993 and a Proposed Criterion for Its Non-Compliance

Abstract

In the present study, the air quality is assessed for the year 2010 regarding to the Total Suspended Particles (TSP) for six cities of Sonora, Mexico, representing the first regional study in Sonora in air quality. The assessment used performance indicators and indicators of compliance with the regulations. It is established that in all the cities the maximum limit value of daily concentration of 210 μg/m 3 is exceeded, being the percentage of days above the rule of 30%, 78%, 76%, 6%, 3% and 62% for Agua Prieta, Nogales, Puerto Penasco, Hermosillo, Guaymas and Obregón respectively, classifying these days with poor air quality. According to the annualized index used, the air quality was not satisfactory for the period of study in the six cities. Nogales and Puerto Penasco presented the most adverse conditions of air quality with annual average values of TSP of 363 and 345 μg/m 3 and maximum daily of 1047 and 1239 μg/m 3 (498% and 590% above the norm) respectively. The requirements of coverage that establishes the Mexican Official Standard NOM-025-SSA1-1993 (SSA, 2005) are questioned for its compliance, proposing in this paper a criterion of non-compliance by prioritizing the protection of health and the precautionary principle. It is recommended to implement air quality management programs (PROAIRE) in these cities.