Persistent pesticides in Mexico

As part of the recent increase in the international interest in persistent organic pollutants and their environmental and health hazards, it was found that although most of them have been severely controlled in developed countries, in most developing countries--including Mexico--their import, use, and in some cases production have continued up to the present without sufficient or adequate controls. Despite the large and continuing use of persistent organic chemicals in Mexico in agriculture, public health, and industry, data on their import, production, use, disposal, and the presence of their residues in the environment, food, and human tissues are extremely scarce and widely dispersed. This review is devoted only to the use of persistent pesticides in Mexico; it is the first effort to locate, gather, and analyze this information and to summarize and discuss the past and current situation of the control of these chemicals in Mexico. This review discusses the general background for the use of these pesticides in the country, including historical development, the reasons for substitution by less persistent products in crops intended for export, and the undesirable effect of this substitution on the health of migratory agricultural workers. The current status of the legal framework for the control of pesticides in Mexico is presented with emphasis on its slow and haphazard development; the legal, technical, and administrative reasons for the insufficient enforcement and oversight of the existing regulations and standards are highlighted. The low priority of this research area for the Mexican science and technology authorities and the negative consequences of this low priority on the existence of sufficient reliable data on pesticide residues in the environment and humans in Mexico are also discussed. The available data on production and uses of persistent pesticides in Mexico are presented, and the existing information on their residues in the environment, biota, food, and human tissues in the country is summarized; maps with the location of the main studies are included to stress the lack of information for most of the country, especially for remote areas and regions of agriculture devoted to crops for local, domestic, or self-consumption. The major characteristics of these studies are discussed in specific sections and, on this basis, a general comment on the current situation and forecast for the near future is made. The conclusions summarize the information presented, with particular emphasis on the need to improve and update the legal framework and strengthen the technical and administrative infrastructure essential for the oversight and control of the regulations. The urgency of carrying out new studies, in particular interdisciplinary studies, to establish the current pattern for pollution by these chemicals in Mexico is stressed.