• Friday, November 04, 2011
• Inter Press Service

Despite the threat cadmium poses to health and the environment, Mexico has no plan to reduce the use of the heavy metal in the production of toys and industrial products like batteries and fertiliser.

This Latin American country produces some 1,600 tons a year of cadmium and exports fertiliser, chemicals, plastics and anti-rust paints that contain the heavy metal. It is also a major importer of nickel-cadmium electric accumulators and cadmium waste and scrap.

'The million dollar question is why aren't certain measures applied, such as reducing the content of these materials in products ,' said Rosario Norzagaray, director of the Mexican Network for Environmental Management of Waste (REMEXMAR) , based in the northwest state of Baja California.

'The institutions have to act,' she told IPS. 'The government only reacts to howls of outrage from the community.'

The network of 10 organisations, founded in 2000, has been carrying out a 'programme for the development of capacities for the adequate management of electronic waste' since 2009. So far, it has provided training to 15 educational institutions in Baja California and collected 17 tons of electronic waste, including old computers, cell-phones and batteries.

The general population absorbs cadmium into the body through the food chain — from crops contaminated by polluted water — and through smoking tobacco contaminated by fertilisers that contain the heavy metal.

Exposure to excess cadmium can cause kidney damage, hypertension, heart disease and anaemia, and increases the risk of prostate, lung and kidney cancer.

In its study 'Analysis of the flow of trade and review of environmentally sound management practices for products containing mercury, lead and cadmium in Latin America and the Caribbean', published in March, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) studied the possible effects on human health and the environment of products containing these three heavy metals.

It also called for global actions in relation to lead and cadmium.

UNEP noted that the import of new and used products containing lead and cadmium is a pending challenge for developing countries and economies in transition that lack the capacity to manage and dispose of the substances in products in an environmentally sound manner.

'The question is seeing where the waste ends up, in order to put a stop to the cycle,' said Norzagaray, who lives in a state where more than 200 manufacturing plants operate.

'The general population lacks awareness about hazardous waste. People have not been given accurate and reliable information in a way that captures their attention. Levels of participation by society are low…we want to create a sense of community,' she said.

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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