Artisanal brick kilns in Mexico: socio-environmental impacts, health effects, and regulatory challenges

Artisanal brick kilns (ABKs) in Mexico operate predominantly under conditions of informality, poverty, and limited regulatory oversight. This narrative review integrates scientific literature, institutional reports, and regulatory documents to examine the socio-environmental impacts, health effects, and regulatory challenges associated with ABKs in Mexico, complemented by a state-level descriptive ecological analysis linking social deprivation and the territorial distribution of brick-kilns units. Evidence indicates that artisanal brick production is spatially and socially embedded in marginalized communities, where proximity of kilns to residential areas, family-based labor organization, and restricted access to cleaner fuels amplify exposure for workers and nearby populations alike. The combustion of low-cost and often waste-derived fuels, rather than the clay composition itself, is the primary driver of complex emissions including fine particulate matter, black carbon, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals, and persistent organic pollutants, with contamination extending to soil, settled dust, and water. Health studies, though limited in number and geographically concentrated, document a burden of internal exposure to pollutant mixtures together with subclinical respiratory, renal, cardiometabolic, hematologic, genotoxic, and epigenetic alterations in children, adolescents, and workers. Within the international literature, Mexico stands out for the breadth of its multi-organ biomonitoring evidence. The current regulatory framework is structurally misaligned with the operational realities of the sector, with ambient and emission standards that are difficult to enforce in informal settings and an absence of occupational health protections for most brick kiln workers. Addressing these challenges will require regulatory instruments designed specifically for ABKs, expanded health surveillance, and governance arrangements compatible with the socioeconomic conditions of brick-making communities.