Mexico is facing a 'toxic crisis' and has become a 'garbage sink' for the United States, exposing communities to dangerous pollution, a UN expert has warned. Marcos Orellana, the UN special rapporteur on toxics and human rights, conducted an 11-day investigative mission in Mexico last month and found lax environmental standards and a lack of oversight allowing pollution to accumulate.
Orellana said imports of hazardous and plastic waste from the US were worsening the situation. 'US overconsumption and economic activity are using Mexico as a garbage sink,' he said. He noted more than 1,000 contaminated sites officially recorded, many of which had become 'sacrifice zones' where diseases like cancer and miscarriages were normalised.
In a preliminary report, Orellana cited factories spewing hazardous waste into the Atoyac River, industrial pig farms contaminating drinking water on the Yucatan peninsula, and a mining chemical spill affecting communities around the Sonora River. He said proposals to bring additional waste for recycling would add to the environmental burden in places like the industrial corridor of Tula.
Government records show the US ships hundreds of thousands of tons of hazardous waste to Mexico each year, including lead-acid car batteries and scrap plastic, paper and metal. Environmental groups have questioned Mexico's capacity to handle this without pollution. Residents in Monterrey, a manufacturing hub with severe air pollution, welcomed Orellana's calls for greater attention to health.
María Enríquez, a mother and activist in Monterrey, said poor air quality had become part of daily life, with residents suffering rhinitis, eye irritation and asthma attacks. 'We have learned to live sick, especially with respiratory illnesses,' she said. Guadalupe Rodríguez, director of a network of childcare centres, said children had constant coughing, adding that the government must enforce Mexico's constitutional guarantee of a healthy environment.
Orellana's visit comes as toxic waste faces increasing scrutiny in Mexico. He warned that companies are not held responsible for preventing, mitigating or repairing damage, resulting in the 'legalized poisoning of people'.
