NM, greens fight TX on dirty ASARCO smelter plan

ASARCO's closed dirty smelter looms over TX, NM and MX neighborhoods.

LAS CRUCES NM -- The State of New Mexico has officially joined environmental groups pushing to block a Texas rubber stamp on a plan by foreign-owned ASARCO to open a dirty copper smelter in El Paso.

The smelter would harm air quality, public health and the climate. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should turn down the Texas pollution permit.

Despite industry claims that 'we need copper', most US produced copper is exported to China, India and other developing nations. We get the pollution and cancer, big mining corporations get the money, and other nations get the copper.

Currently based in Tucson, ASARCO is now owned by Grupo Mexico in Mexico City, but India's Sterlite Industries is trying to buy ASARCO. The pending sale of the company may change plans for the smelter.

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