Mexican and U.S. NGOs Conduct Model Toxics Inventory
March 11, 1994
A Mexican and U.S. NGO have recently completed two precedent-
setting toxics inventories that may help NGOs and others
develop local and regional inventories and may serve as
practical models for larger scale inventories in Mexico as well
as other nations. The two pilot project inventories were
conducted in northeastern Sonora by Enlace Ecolgico (EECO), a
Mexican environmental organization from the state of Sonora,
with technical and financial assistance from Arizona Toxics
Information (ATI). The first project focused on industrial
chemicals used by U.S-owned maquiladoras (assembly plants) in
the city of Agua Prieta, and the second surveyed use of
pesticides by small farmers in the communities of Santa Cruz
and Fronteras. Results of the inventories, identifying and
quantifying the toxics found in the region are expected to be
available in April.
The EECO/ATI agricultural project may be the first in Mexico to
survey use of pesticides by small farmers, who comprise the
largest group of farmers in the country. (In fact, subsistence
farmers outnumber all other types of farmers throughout the
world.) The ultimate goal of this pilot project is to generate
interest and momentum towards starting a similar right-to-know
efforts in other parts of Mexico, especially along the northern
border.
Unlike the type of inventory used in the U.S., commonly known
as the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), the EECO/ATI industrial
sector inventory includes data for emergency planning as well
as data on pollution use and release, and was initiated and
conducted by grassroots NGOs rather than from top-down federal
mandates.
By cooperating with local farmers and maquiladora managers, by
obtaining active support from local and state governments, and
by widely disseminating the results of the surveys, the
EECO/ATI projects may also serve to stimulate the
implementation of other right-to-know efforts, including the
development of state and federal toxics inventories in Mexico.
Recently, the State of Sonora announced that it would be
conducting a pesticide-use study of its own, and SEDESOL, the
Mexican federal environmental agency, announced at an
Organization (OECD) workshop in January, that it is ready to
begin working on development of a national toxics inventory.
The OECD workshop, at which Michael Gregory of ATI reported on
the EECO/ATI projects, was the first of six to be held in
response to the Rio Earth Summit call for all countries to
undertake inventories, known in international jargon as
Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs). The evolving
model for PRTRs, which may become the world standard, includes
data on both point and non-point chemical use and release,
unlike the U.S. TRI, which is limited to point sources in the
manufacturing sector but excludes non-point sources like
agriculture. The Netherlands PRTR, which like the EECO/ATI
projects includes pesticides, may serve as a case study for the
OECD and other countries.
This more comprehensive inventory may be adopted by the OECD
because of its obvious utility for developing countries, most
of which rely on agricultural production for a large part of
their national incomes. Although developing countries have
only observer status at the OECD, observers from developing
nations like Mexico are participating in the workshops and can
influence the outcome. The next OECD workshop to be held June
14-16 in Ontario, Canada, will discuss inclusion of non-point
sources in OECD's guidance document for national PRTRs.
Source/Contact: Michael Gregory, Arizona Toxics Information, PO
Box 1896, Bisbee, AZ 85603; phone/fax (602) 432-5374.
Contact for OECD workshops: Harvey Yakowitz, Environment
Directorate, OECD, 2, rue de Andre Pascal, 75016, Paris,
France; phone (33-1) 45 24 78 80; fax (33-1) 45 24 78 76.
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