NGOs want Mexico, a member of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to lobby for the OECD to incorporate Basel Convention plastics amendments into the OECD Decision. By doing so, OECD countries will be required to use the prior informed consent procedure for hazardous and mixed/contaminated plastics wastes with each other. This is particularly important for Mexico, because it borders the United States,the main generator of plastics in the world.
Guadalajara, México. A new study on lead in architectural decorative paints sold for home use in México released today by Casa Cem and IPEN finds that more than one-fourth of the paints analyzed contained dangerously high total lead content greater than 10,000 parts per million (ppm). The maximum permissible limit on lead in paint in e.g. USA and Canada is 90 ppm—the same threshold recommended by the UN Environment Programme. One yellow paint from the brand, General Paint, contained the highest amount of lead at 200,000 ppm. Moreover, a yellow paint from the brand, Pinturas y Matices, labeled as “lead-free” contained 130,000 ppm lead.
“Exposure to lead even at low levels has irreversible and lifelong impacts to children, especially those aged six years and below—the critical age for brain development,” said Sofia Chávez, General Director of Casa Cem. “We must eliminate this perilous source of lead exposure to young children to protect their intellectual growth and maximize our nation’s future intellectual capacity. This can be done now since safe and effective alternatives to lead are already in use and generally available in México.”
Es necesario implementar un plan nacional para reducir el uso de Plaguicidas Altamente Peligrosos (PAP) y transitar hacia alternativas agroecológicas, subrayó el director de la Red de Acción sobre Plaguicidas y sus Alternativas en México (RAPAM), Fernando Bejarano González, en la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México.
Ciudad de México, lunes 6 de agosto, 2018. Las organizaciones de la sociedad civil firmantes celebran las declaraciones de la virtual jefa de gobierno de la Ciudad de México, Claudia Sheinbaum, sobre la cancelación del proyecto de la planta de termovalorización, dado que existe evidencia y datos suficientes que demuestran la inviabilidad ambiental, cultural y económica de este tipo de obras.
Several NGOs wrote a letter directed to the Executive Board of the Interamerican Development Bank and the InterAmerican Investment Corporation (BID Invest) to deter the approval of a $200 million dollar loan for a Termo AP Project this Tuesday.
The loan would support the building of a waste incinerator for the next 20 years in Mexico City, incinerating millions of tons of solid waste to produce energy. This project has been opposed by a wide range of NGOs in Mexico City, and the new elected city government has expressed strong opposition to this project. In this time of transition for the new elected government, which will be formally instated on December 5th, 2018, the letter is asking officials to reconsider the support of this project.
The report "Highly Hazardous Pesticides in Mexico," coordinated by The Pesticide Action Network in Mexico (RAPAM) is now available. In the foreword to the English edition, Hilal Elver, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, and Baskut Tuncak, United Nations Special Rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes, say: "This book provides an excellent overview about the peril of the wide use of highly hazardous pesticides in Mexico, many banned in other countries.
They add: “It highlights the need for changes in the regulatory framework and the promotion of emerging agroecological alternatives from peasant communities, including organic farming. It is a very good source to convince other developing countries to phase out dangerous agro-chemicals, achieve healthy food and healthy environments, all the while protecting human rights in agrarian communities and the right to adequate food for all people."