Frontera NorteSur December 1999/January 2000

Clean Industries Awarded By Environmental Agency

On November 17, Mexican Department of Environmental Protection (Profepa) gave away 49 "Clean Industry" certificates to businesses across México, 12 industries from the state of Chihuahua were awarded.

Local recipients of the national prize included the Federal Commission of Electricity, Honeywell, Lear Industries and Pemex. Across the country, in addition to the 12 industries awarded from the state of Chihuahua, 25 were from Coahuila, four from Nuevo León, three from Hidalgo, three from Tamaulipas, one from Zacatecas, and one from Michoacán, according to Julia Carabias, secretary of Environment, Natural Resources, and Fishing Department (Semarnap).

This is the third year in a row that "Clean Industries" prizes have been awarded by Profepa. This certificate recognizes that these industries have maintained their facilities according to environmental regulations and have made regular improvements.

Source: El Diario

Groups Join Against Hospital Waste

Several Mexican and American environmental organizations will unite to protest the proposed hospital and industrial waste disposal at Villa Ahumada, Chihuahua, according to Manuel Robles Flores, president of the Binational Coalition Against Toxic and Radioactive Dumps, who said that groups have been meeting in El Paso.

Robles said that Mexican and American governments have the tendency to place toxic disposals in the poorest towns with the fewest social organizations. However, environmentalists from both countries are totally against the idea of installing an industrial and infectious waste disposal in Villa Ahumada.

"This is environmental racism. It would be better to place this waste in its place of origin, which is not México," said Robles Flores.

Among American ecologists involved include Edward Patrikus, Andy Mares, Francisco de la Vega, Bill Adington Guerra, and Richard Boren, from the states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

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Citizens Denounce The Environmental Dangers In Business

The Attorney General of the Federal Environmental Protection Department (Profepa) announced a brief program providing citicizen a procedure for denouncing businesses who take environmental risks.

According to statistics by the agency, 1,160 complaints were filed in the state of Chihuahua for irregularities in the environment, 32 percent were against businesses from Cd. Juárez, 25 percent from Chihuahua, and the rest in different towns throughout the state.

Julia Carabias, secretary of Enviroment, Natural Resources, and Fishing Department (Semarnap), said that the main problem in maintaining a safe environment is the lack of infrastructure needed to store the dangerous waste and until today no protest mechanism existed in the country.

According to this new process, businesses also will be assessed to determine their competency in environmental matters.

Source: El Diario

Environmental Program Sharpened for the Year 2000

The Environmental Management and Municipal Civil Protection departments in Cd. Juárez presented Mayor Gustavo Elizondo with their proposal to combat the environmental problems projected for the year 2000, which consists of 10 plans requiring the authorization of a $20,000 grant.

Alma Leticia Figueroa, director of civil protection for the border city, said that if the project is approved her department will inform residents about how to handle environmental problems should they occur, and at the same time, environmental consciousness will be promoted among citizens. This project will also benefit the air quality and the image in the city.

Source: El Diario

31 Tons Of Toxic Waste Generated Every Day

The maquiladora industries in the state of Chihuahua generate 31.74 tons of dangerous waste every day according to the Department of Environment, Natural Resources, and Fishing (Semarnap).

Nicolás Juárez, Semarnap's spokesman in Chihuahua, added that hospitals generate 2.5 tons of waste every day, in the state. Juárez said that during the first semester of this year, 5,714 tons of exported industrial waste were generated by 220 businesses, and the majority were from Cd. Juárez.

According to enviromentalists, it costs million of dollars to the maquiladora industries to export the toxic waste, which could be avoided if Mexican investors would participate in managing this problem.

Data provided by the Semarnap revealed that 11,428 tons of etoxic waste were exported during 1998, and 2,950 from national industries were generated, according to Juárez.

Source: El Diario