Mexican Environment

From Lead in Gasoline. The use of gasoline containing lead as an antiknock agent has been considered the major anthropogenic lead source in Mexico, particularly in large cities and industrial areas. It is estimated that almost 30% of the total lead emitted in Mexico enters the air in and around Mexico City (see section, Fuel additives ), where more than 20% of the population of the country live (20 of an estimated 86 million for 1988). 

A preliminary study carried out in 1968-1969, in collaboration with Canada and the United States (Bravo et al. 1970), is considered to be the first in this regard. The results, in pg/m were Mexico, 5.11 Cincinnati, 1.40 Philadelphia, 1.60 Los Angeles, 2.50 New York, 2.50. 

In another study carried out later in the University City area, south of Mexico City, the maximum concentration of lead was found to be 0.733 pg/m (Espinoza 1978). These results are rather low and, in fact, are not supported by those of other studies or by the official data released by SEDUE. 

During 1979 and 1980, 59 samples of particles from the north of Mexico City were analyzed for heavy metals (lead, iron, copper, zinc, and cadmium), (Salazar 1981). The average lead and cadmium levels were slightly high for lead, the average concentration was 1.045 pg/m with a standard deviation of 0.445 and a maximum of 2.473 pg/m. The fluctuations of air lead observed during the study were attributed to the fact that vehicles are considered to be the major source for air lead in the city. This conclusion was not supported by further studies. 

with data provided by the manual air monitoring system operated by SEDUE, Jauregui and Sanchez (1987) studied the distribution of atmospheric lead in Mexico City during the period 1978-1985. In 1978, the maximum lead concentration found was 2.5 pg/m and corresponded to downtown Mexico City (centro) and the industrial area of Vallejo-Villa (see Fig. 4). In January 1978, a large area of the city had an air lead concentration of 1.5 pg/m, which has been accepted by SEDUE as the limit. In later years, the highest average was 7 pg/m and corresponded to the station located at the industrial area known as Xalostoc. 

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Later, Viniegra et al. (1960) carried out the first study of saturnism in a small town near Mexico City, where ceramics are made according to the traditional system. These authors found high blood lead concentrations in 48 persons (male and female) of various ages living there. After this study, many more have been carried out on this metal and its presence in the Mexican environment and people. However, no effective control measures, which are urgently needed in this country, have been implemented. 

Elamax, a job shop in Juarez that builds custom electronic circuit boards, utilizes attendance and performance incentives. It has about 800 employees and gives approximately three weeks of training to each employee. The shop has water recycling systems to prevent polluted wastewater from going into the water systems. It returns all waste products, such as solder particles, to the United States rather than polluting the Mexican environment. Plants like the Johnson and Johnson or Elamax plants would be considered impressive operations no matter where they were located. 

Felker, P. et ah. Comparison of Opuntia ficus-indica varieties of Mexican and Argentine origin for fruit yield and quality in Argentina, J. Arid Environ., 60, 405, 2005. 

Thies, M. and D. Gregory. 1994. Residues of lead, cadmium, and arsenic in livers of Mexican free-tailed bats. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 52 641-648. 

Slooff, W. and Baerselman, R. Comparison of the nsefnlness of the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanuni) and the clawed toad (Zenopus laevis) in toxicological bioassays, BuU. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 24(3) 439-443, 1980. 

Ministry of the Environment, Natural Resources, and Fisheries of Mexico, Mexican Guidelines for Industrial Discharge Waters. 1996, NOM-002-ECOL-1996. 

Waliszewski, S.M., Pardio, V.T., Chantiri, J.N., Infanzon, R.M., 1996. Organochlorine pesticide residues in adipose tissue of Mexicans. Sci. Total Environ. 181, 125-131. 

The job for the resource manager is formidable it is not certain that even the best processes will become commercial in a competitive environment. Many external factors can cause the commercial environment to change with great effect. A few examples are the availability of cheap Mexican and Canadian gas, an Iranian shutdown of oil production, a larger OPEC price increase than anticipated, very high interest rates. 

Albalak R, McElroy RH, Noonan G, Buchanan S, Jones RL, Flanders WD, Gotway-Crawford C, Kim D, Kignam T, Daley WR, Jarrett J, Eduardo E, McGeehin MA (2003) Blood lead levels and risk factors for lead poisoning among children in a Mexican smelting community. Arch Environ Health, 58 172-183. 

Calderdn J, Navarro ME, Jimenez-Capdeville ME, Santos-Diaz MA, Golden A, Rodriguez-Leyva I, Borja-Aburto VH, Diaz-Barriga F (2001) Exposure to arsenic and lead and neuropsychological development in Mexican children. Environ Res, 85 69-76. 

Diaz-Barriga F, Batres L, Calderon J, Lugo A, Galvao L, Lara I, Rizo P, Arroyave ME, McConnell R (1997b) The El Paso smelter twenty years later residual impact on Mexican children. Environ Res, 74 11-16. 

Lopez-Carrillo L, Torres-Sanchez L, Garrido F, Papaqui-Hernandez J, Palazuelos-Rendon E, Lopez-Cervantes M (1996) Prevalence and determinants of lead intoxication in Mexican children of low socioeconomic status. Environ Health Perspect, 104(11) 1208-1211. 

In this chapter, we summarize the current knowledge of interesting terpenes found in Mexican medicinal plants, with special emphasis on the zoapatle (Montanoa tomentosa), a plant originally called "cihuapahtli." This means woman s medicine, and it was used to assist women during difficult labor because of its specific uterus contraction effect caused by the diterpene active substances. Finally, some aspects of the current use of medicinal plants in different cultural environments will be discussed. 

Ampe, R, ben Omar, N., Moizan, C., Wacher, C., Guyot, J.P. (1999). Polyphasic study of the spatial distribution of microrganisms in Mexican pozol, a fermented maize dough, demonstrates the need for cultivation-independent methods to investigate traditional fermentations. AppL Environ. Microbiol, 65, 5464-5473. 

Enjoy the Mexican Caribbean at our 5 star All Inclusive beach front resort on the SW coast of Cozumel. In perfect harmony with its environ-meirl. offering 300 bungalow-style rooms, fully equipped. 24 hrs All Inclusive Sendee. All meals beverages, entertainment, Mini-Club, 2 pools, tennis many other activities and sendees included. 

Photo 5 The IXTOC well blowout in Mexican waters is the second largest spill recorded to date. (Environment Canada)... 

Beckett WS, Moore JL, Keogh JP, et al Acute encephalopathy due to occupational exposure to arsenic. British Journal of Industrial Medicine 43 66-67, 1986 Calderon J, Navarro ME, Jimenz-Capdeville ME, et al Exposure to arsenic and neuropsychological development in Mexican children. Environ Res 85 69-76, 2001 DePalma AE Arsine intoxication in a chemical plant. J Occup Med 11 582-587,1969 Eagle H, Magnuson HJ The systemic treatment of 227 cases of arsenic poisoning (encephalitis, dermatitis, blood dyscrasias, jaundice, fever) with 2,3-dimercapto-propanol (BAL). American Journal of Syphilis, Gonorrhea, and Venereal Diseases 30 420-441, 1946... 

For example, two Hispanics, one a Puerto Rican and another Mexican, will have different political and socioeconomic hist( y, dialect, and belief systems. Acknowledging these differences allows the social work practitioner to examine carefully the applicability of current treatment models and determine if a relevant therapeutic framework is being used with minority clients. Rogler, Malgady, Costantino, and Blumenthal (1987) advocated culturally or ethnically sensitive services that include focused, therapeutic models and emphasize short-term problem-solving reproaches when working with Hispanic clients. Many of these approaches are useful in helping Hispanic and other minority clients cope with the socio-environ-mental problems they encounter. 

Dc Jesu.s. C.-C. T, Barro-Aragon, R.. and Haro-Gareia, I. (1998). Pesticide poisoning in Mexican seasonal farm wtirkers. Int. J. Occup. Environ. Health 4,202-203. 

Crews, T.E. (1996) The supply of phosphorus from native, inorganic phosphorus pools in continuously cultivated Mexican agroecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 57, 197-208. 

Recio R., Ocampo-Gomez G., Moran-Martinez J., Boija-Aburto V., Lopez-Cervantes M., Uribe M., Torres-Sanchez L., and Cebrian M. E., Pesticide exposure alters follicle-stimulating hormone levels in Mexican agricultural workers. Environ. Health. Perspect., 113(9), 1160-1163, 2005. 

Unfortunately, market risks have increased as the array of available investment instruments has broadened. For example, the Mexican peso crisis in 1994, the Asian currency debacle and recession beginning in 1997, the Russian debt default and the unprecedented hedge fund bail-out coordinated by the Federal Reserve Bank in 1998, and a 30% drop in the price of technology shares early in 2000 all had major repercussions for financial markets. Where is an investor to find solace in such an unfriendly and disturbing environment ... 

Diaz-Ruiz, G., Guyot, J.-P., Ruiz-Teran, E, Morlon-Guyot, J. et al. (2003) Microbial and physiological characterization of weakly amylolytic but fast-growing lactic acid bacteria a functional role in supporting microbial diversity in pozol, a Mexican fermented maize beverage. Appl. Environ. Microbiol, 69, 4367-4374. 

Acosta-Saavedra LC, Moreno ME, Rodriguez-Kessler T, Luna A, Arias-Salvritierra D, Gomez R, Calderon-Aranda ES (2011) Environmental exposure to lead and mercury in Mexican children a real health problem. Toxicol Mech Methods 21(9) 656-666 Adams W, Kimerle RA, Barnett JW (1992) Sediment quality and aquatic hfe assessment. Environ Sci Technol 26 1874-1885... 

Peregrino CP, Moreno MV, Miranda SV, Rubio AD, Leal LO (2011) Mercury levels in locally manufactured Mexican skin-lightening creams. Int J Environ Res Public Health 8 2516—2523... 

Rahman SA, Wood AK, Sarmani S, Majid AA (1997) Determination of mercury and organic mercury contents in Malaysian seafood. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 217 53-56 Reimer AA, Reimer RD (1975) Total mercury in some fish and shellfish along the Mexican coast. BuU Environ Contam Toxicol 14(1) 105-111... 

From the available data it is evident that many more studies are needed on this subject in order to evaluate properly the magnitude of the presence of lead in organisms and its possible impact on the health of the Mexican population and on the environment. 

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