Magdalena Cerda, the Tijuana representative for the Environmental Health Coalition, helped push the local government to place signs that prohibits trailers that serve the maquiladora industry from driving through residential areas in colonias Chilpancingo and Murúa in Tijuana. The semi-trucks often take a shortcut through residential communities to reach the industrial park. Diesel exhaust is associated with serious health risks, such as asthma, cancer and heart disease. Exposure to fine particles is associated with increased frequency of childhood illnesses and can also reduce lung function in children, according to the EPA. Tijuana, Jan. 12, 2012.
