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Conference Highlights Imperial County's High Asthma Rates And Shrinking Salton Sea

Sunrise at the Salton Sea in Imperial County on April 15, 2015.
Kris Arciaga
/
KPBS
Sunrise at the Salton Sea in Imperial County on April 15, 2015.

Conference Highlights Imperial County's High Asthma Rates And Shrinking Salton Sea
Conference To Cover Imperial County's High Asthma Rates, Shrinking Salton Sea's Impact On Health GUEST:Luis Olmedo, executive director, Comite Civico del Valle

Residents of Imperial County-based challenges. The County is one of the poorest with one of the highest unemployment rates. There are other challenges that are more serious like environmental issues that lead to poor health. The seventh annual Imperial County health leadership Summit takes places we can to raise awareness. I spoke with an organizer Luis Olmedo, executive director. Reporter: welcome to the program. Who is taking part in this Summit? They are based on the issues that are a priority. Some agencies include the environmental protection agency, academic institutions. We also have local participation. Reporter: all the statistics are already available for Imperial County residents. What function does the health leadership Summit serve in getting that information to the public? Imperial County has not had a meaningful voice in Sacramento, Washington and we have CNET in very low investment in terms of infrastructure and education and health and environment. By having that disconnect and the fact that we are the purpose County, we're right on the border, it makes it difficult to do business locally. Bringing expert speakers to Imperial does a few things. It creates a neutral space where people can participate and have a space where they can have a meaningful dialogue on issues of importance to our region. One of the biggest issues? The impact of the salt and see? That impact is usually talked about in terms of fish or bird populations. What is the effect on the people who live close to the solvency? It is partially due to the fact that we are a hard-to-reach population. We are disengaged. Are main priority is having jobs. A lot of the other issues that are having to do with environmental health, a lot of times they take a backseat to our priorities. Now that there has been a lot more information, this is our seventh Summit, we have seen a progression over the years where the computer the is more involved. Education is more involved. The high school is it really the gold standard for this whole state in terms of how they engage in education at the local high school level. The students are asking for more information. This has pushed the discussion to identify habitat and wildlife and humans who live here. We have the highest asthma rate in the nation. We already meet federal standards for -- particulates in the air. This is an additional source of pollution that will greatly impact our quality of life and help. I think the message has resonated at the state level. Even at the federal level. Reporter: tell us about the problem with asthma. It is a devastating problem. It definitely is a huge problem. 2005 we started this buddy and surveyed 94,000 students in partnership with the Department of Public health that was the most meaningful research study that had been done. That resulted in numbers that were quite alarming. We had three times asthma prevalence in the rest of the state. That might not even be a real number because a lot of people seek healthcare in Mexico. A lot of those numbers get lost. The bad -- burden of Adam -- asthma is a huge burden. A day off work good mate -- could mean not making ends meet. For student they may not be able to catch up. Not only that but it is a huge economic impact on the school itself and its ability to maintain resources. Reporter: what you hope is accomplished? We would like to have a meaningful dialogue among many stakeholders. These solutions that need to be put in the forefront rule require the participation of many stakeholders and that includes industry, scientists, researchers, academia, government, we need politicians who put forth policies that may include resources, certain laws to make sure that we begin to have a good roadmap to improving the quality of life and reducing air pollution. It is a reality that we face. We can no longer leave this for tomorrow for the next politician. We need to tackle these issues now. We have participants and speakers from the Gov.'s office, elected officials, we have some there are well-recognized researchers and health professionals at our Summit. I think this is a good opportunity to come up with solutions. That is part of what we do. Come up with 2 to 3 priorities that we can come up -- can talk about over year. We can take the lead on some of these issues and there are times that it will require multiple partnerships. I have been speaking with the executive director. The seventh County environmental health Summit is this Saturday. Thank you so much.

Individuals representing local, state and federal environmental agencies will be attending a conference on environmental health issues in Imperial County Saturday.

Community members and activists will also be in attendance.

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The Imperial County Environmental Health Summit is organized by Comite Civico del Valle, an Imperial Valley-based nonprofit.

The executive director of the organization, Luis Olmedo, said bringing expert speakers to Imperial County creates a neutral space where people from diverse backgrounds "can participate and have a space where they can have a meaningful dialogue on issues of importance to our region."

The conference will include sessions on air pollution, asthma and the Salton Sea.

Olmedo said that sometimes the conversation around the problems caused by the shrinking Salton Sea focuses on wildlife and habitat. He said his organization aims to make sure the public health impacts are also part of the conversation.

He said Imperial County currently does not meet standards for particulates in the air or ozone.

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The shrinking Salton Sea "... is yet another additional source of pollution that's going to greatly impact our quality of life and our health," he said.

The 7th annual Imperial County Environmental Health Leadership Summit is Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Brawley Union High School, 430 North Imperial Avenue in Brawley.