Background

The University of Arizona's Outreach Program
Our Outreach Core has been a component of our Superfund Program for over 10 years. When Dr. Dean Carter founded our Superfund Program, he already had established collaborative research ties with Mexican investigators. He felt that the Superfund Program provided a real opportunity to address common environmental problems (i.e. metals from natural or man-made sources) present in the Southwest and Mexico. We have continued this successful theme in our past and current SBRP renewals. Our success in this area is evidenced by the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the University of Arizona and the Mexican Government (CONAcyt) concerning a Transborder Consortium for Environmental Studies ( MOU ) and the recent awarding of a USAID grant for a Higher Education Partnership for Environmental Sciences and Toxicology ( TIES Program ). Our Outreach to Mexico program has received considerable notoriety (see recent article published in Environmental Health Perspectives) and we are proud that it has begun to expand its base of support and sponsorship.

Environmental Issues of Concern in the Southwest
The University of Arizona is located in the Southwestern United States and there are several environmental issues that are of importance to our region. Most of these problems are also of concern to Mexico.

1. Environmental contaminants of the Southwest [ Env-Cont-SW ]

• Arsenic, heavy metals, and chlorinated solvents as common groundwater contaminants
• Heavy metals and radionuclides from abandoned mines and mill tailings piles
• Agricultural pesticide residues
• Heavy metals and solvents from microelectronics/high technology industries

2. Hispanic population has high exposure rates to environmental contaminants [ Hispanic-AZ ]

3. U.S.-Mexico Border Concerns (e.g. hazardous waste from growth in manufacturing, etc.) (see below).

Fumigation to control Dengue virus. Photo provided by Francisco Cervantes.

Hazardous Waste and Health Problems Along the Border
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has successfully increased trade between the U.S. and Mexico. With increased economic activity, a number of concerns have come to light about environmental health and hazardous waste pollution along the Border and adjacent regions. Mass migration to Border regions has outstripped the capacity of local municipalities to provide adequate housing, water, sanitation, and basic health services (11, 12). As a result, Border populations, again disproportionately Hispanic, are exposed daily to a wide variety of pollutants in soil, air, and water that are potentially linked to increased incidences of health problems, especially among children. Examples of border health problems are listed below:

• Shortages of potable drinking water supplies, wastewater treatment, and solid waste disposal are at crisis level (8).
• Drinking water wells in the Border cities of Nogales and Mexicali were shown to contain high levels of a variety of toxic chemicals ranging from PCE to nitrate (8, 11).
• 30% of the Border population does not have access to sewage collection (6, 8).
• Colonias (low income unplanned settlements) in this region are associated with high incidents of gastrointestinal diseases (8, 11).

Some statistics on the hazardous waste problem along the border are given below:

• Mexico's National Institute of Ecology (INE) estimates that approximately 1 million tons of hazardous waste cross the Border annually
• Over 3,000 border industries (Maquiladoras) contribute to the uncontrolled disposal of large quantities of hazardous waste in the Border region and even “properly disposed” hazardous waste is placed untreated in non-confined landfills (12)
• Mexican law requires that industrial pollution be returned to the country of origin, but INE estimates that only 2% of hazardous waste generated in Border States is returned to the U.S. (11, 12)

The lack of accountability of hazardous chemicals in Mexico is not only a major health issue but is also a potential threat to U.S. homeland security.

Additional environmental health concerns include:

• Fire in a wheat field. Photo provided by Francisco Cervantes.

  Increased trade has also stimulated agricultural production in Border States supported by heavy pesticide usage. Public health experts are particularly concerned about exposure of children to pesticides.
• Mexico is a major petroleum-producing nation with a legacy of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated sites.
• Pollutants threaten to contaminate potable aquifers in the arid Border Region where water resources are already alarmingly scarce.
• Air pollution from industrial emissions, smelters, vehicular exhaust, dust from unpaved roads, open burning of trash, and smoke from wood-burning (8).

The already escalating US/Mexico trade activity, stemming from NAFTA, is expected to double in the next 10 years. The continued concentration of economic activities in Border regions will only worsen the existing environmental crisis if these problems are not addressed. Facilities in Border towns are overextended and can not meet the needs of the growing populations.

Mexican families living in the Border region have too little knowledge and too few resources to adequately protect themselves and their children from the mounting environmental threats. A large number of diseases including gastrointestinal infections, asthma, tuberculosis, multiple myeloma, systemic lupus erythematosus, hepatitis A, neural tube defects, and lead poisoning have been linked to environmental conditions in Border regions (11). People in these communities are exposed daily to pollutants in air, soil, and water; as a result, increasing numbers of children are exhibiting symptoms including breathing difficulties, unexplained illnesses, and learning disabilities. Specific examples of health problems in Northern Mexico include:

• Children with alarmingly elevated blood lead levels that live nearby areas of heavy traffic, smelting industries, or mines (1, 2, 5, 13).
• High levels of arsenic in ground water and mine tailings at many locations in Mexico has resulted in abnormally high intake of arsenic (2, 4, 10, 14).
• Exposure to both arsenic and lead have been found to cause reduced neurological development in Mexican children (4).
• Heavy use of pesticides in Border regions with Texas and Arizona has resulted in documented increased adverse health effects, such as neurobehavioral damage among children (7, 9).

Training and Educational Challenges in Mexico:
The acute shortage of trained people to initiate, let alone operate, environmental facilities in Mexico has been identified as the major stumbling block to development in the Border Region (6). Across the board, Mexican agencies, institutions, and consulting firms need more professionals with strong environmental and public health backgrounds to adequately develop, implement, and manage an overall strategy to confront the mounting environmental and public health problems facing the Border Region as NAFTA trade activity increases. There is a tremendous untapped human resource potential in Mexico that could be trained and used to address these problems. The majority of Mexico’s approximately 100 million people are young (68% of the population is younger than 30); many of whom are willing and eager to prepare themselves for the 21 st century in one of Mexico’s 69 universities or 240 institutions of higher education. However, in order to keep up with the large population of students seeking quality higher education, Mexico must rely on international assistance.

References Cited:
1. Albalak, R., R. H. McElroy, G. Noonan, S. Buchanan, R. L. Jones, W. D. Flanders, C. Gotway-Crawford, D. Kim, T. Dignam, T. Daley, J. Jarrett, E. Eduardo, and M. A. McGeehin. 2003. Blood lead levels and risk factors for lead poisoning among children in a Mexican smelting community. Archives of Environmental Health 58:172-183.

2. Benin, A. L., J. D. Sargent, M. Dalton, and S. Roda. 1999. High concentrations of heavy metals in neighborhoods near ore smelters in northern Mexico. Environmental Health Perspectives 107:279-284. [ EHP107-4-Benin ]

3. Brown, V. J. 2004. Reaching across the Border with the SBRP. Environmental Health Perspectives 112:A278-A279. [ EHP112-5-Brown ]

4. Calderon, J., M. E. Navarro, M. E. Jimenez-Capdeville, M. A. Santos-Diaz, A. Golden, I. Rodriguez-Levya, V. Borja-Aburto, and F. Diaz-Barriga. 2001. Exposure to arsenic and lead and neuropsychological development in Mexican children. Environmental Research 85:69-76.

5. CalderonSalinas, J. V., G. HernandezLuna, B. ValdezAnaya, M. MaldonadoVega, and A. LopezMiranda. 1996. Evolution of lead toxicity in a population of children. Human & Experimental Toxicology 15:376-382.

6. GAO. 2000. U.S.-Mexico Border: Despite Some Progress, Environmental Infrastructure Challenges Remain. U.S. General Accounting Office. [ GAO-US-MX ]

7. Guillette, E. A., M. M. Meza, M. G. Aquilar, A. D. Soto, and I. E. Garcia. 1998. An anthropological approach to the evaluation of preschool children exposed to pesticides in Mexico. Environmental Health Perspectives 106:347-353. [ EHP106-6-Guillette ]

8. Liverman, D. M., R. G. Varady, O. Chavez, and R. Sanchez. 1999. Environmental issues along the United States-Mexico border: Drivers of change and responses of citizens and institutions. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment 24:607-+.

9. Mendola, P., and R. Philen. 2000. Pesticide exposure and adverse health effects in young children along the US-Mexico border. Epidemiology 11:S147-S147.

10. Meza, M. M., M. J. Kopplin, and A. Gandolfi. 2003. Arsenic drinking water exposure and urinary excretion among adults in the Yaqui Valley, Sonora, Mexico. Toxicological Sciences 72:184-184.

11. Schmidt, C. W. 2000. Bordering on environmental disaster. Environ Health Perspect. 108:A308-A315. [ EHP108-7-Schmidt ]

12.Varady, R., P. R. Lankao, and K. Hankins. 2001. Managing hazardous materials along the US-Mexico border. Environment 43:22-36. [ E43-10-Varady ]

13. Vargas, G. G. G., M. R. Andrade, L. M. Del Razo, V. B. Aburto, E. V. Aguilar, and M. E. Cebrian. 2001. Lead exposure in children living in a smelter community in Region Lagunera, Mexico. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health-Part A 62:417-429.

14. Vazquez, R. T., and A. B. Petriciolet. 2002. Arsenic content in groundwater from Aguascalientes City, Mexico, and risk evaluation in the population. Ingenieria Hidraulica En Mexico17:79-88.