Flores Julio, Albert Lilia A
Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Azcapotzalco, Avenida San Pablo 180, Delegación Azcapotzalco, México DF 02200, México.
Rev Environ Contam Toxicol. 2004;181:37-109.
From the data presented here, it can be concluded that despite some important progress in recent years, in particular, the phaseout of the use of lead in gas, environmental exposure to lead remains a particularly severe problem in Mexico. The lack of recent and adequate information on the presence of lead in air, dust, soil, surface waters, the marine environment, and food is noteworthy. In particular, there are no data on the presence of lead in the environment of industrial cities or in areas where mining and metallurgical activities are predominant, including their nearby environment, such as river sediments or air, and in their inhabitants. As a result, the official conclusion that the major present source of lead for Mexicans is the manufacture and use of lead-glazed ceramics, and the few official actions in this regard lack a solid basis because they rely on data from a few limited studies carried out mainly in Mexico City and its Metropolitan Zone. Although there have been few studies in Mexico on the adverse effects of long-term exposure to lead, the data provided on its presence in human milk, lungs, and bones and the results of the scant studies on its neuropsychological effects on children should be taken into consideration to establish more effective control and protective measures and to support the additional studies required to document the present situation. In particular, more studies should be carried out in lead glazed-ceramic-producing communities and on the hazards of lead to the communities established near industrial areas and along river banks. In future studies, special attention should be paid to establishing a common protocol, with adequate analytical control measures, if possible, with intercalibration of the participating laboratories; this is essential, because at present many of the available data cannot be compared or extrapolated due to their deficiencies in this regard. The situation around the only primary lead smelter in Mexico, Met Mex Peñoles, is a relevant example. Although to date the government and the company have supported the determination of lead in more than 11,000 samples of children's blood, the analyses were carried out in several laboratories, without the minimum requirements to allow them to be valid or compared; thus, the number of children with lead above the different levels recommended by the CDC to establish their risk is not known. In closing, there is still much to be done to document the presence of lead in the environment in Mexico and its adverse effects for health and ecological equilibrium in order to control and reduce its sources; this will require a sustained effort from research institutions and continued support of the authorities, particularly those responsible for health and environment matters. Until these goals are achieved, it will not be possible to state that lead in the Mexican environment is no longer a problem or that it is restricted to particular sources or populations. It is also important to strengthen the legal framework of control to provide adequate enforcement and oversight measures; otherwise, both the existing standards and the new ones will be useless to improve the situation.
从这里呈现的数据可以得出结论，尽管近年来取得了一些重要进展，特别是逐步淘汰了汽油中铅的使用，但在墨西哥，环境铅暴露仍然是一个特别严重的问题。值得注意的是，缺乏关于空气、灰尘、土壤、地表水、海洋环境和食物中铅含量的最新且充分的信息。特别是，没有关于工业城市环境或采矿和冶金活动占主导地位地区（包括其附近环境，如河流沉积物或空气）及其居民体内铅含量的数据。因此，官方得出的结论是，墨西哥人目前铅的主要来源是铅釉陶瓷的制造和使用，而这方面的官方行动很少，且缺乏坚实的依据，因为这些行动依赖于主要在墨西哥城及其大都市区进行的少数有限研究的数据。尽管墨西哥关于长期铅暴露的不良影响的研究很少，但关于母乳、肺部和骨骼中铅含量的数据以及关于其对儿童神经心理影响的少量研究结果，应予以考虑，以便制定更有效的控制和保护措施，并支持为记录当前情况所需的更多研究。特别是，应在生产铅釉陶瓷的社区以及工业区附近和河岸沿线社区开展更多关于铅危害的研究。在未来的研究中，应特别注意制定一个通用方案，并尽可能采取适当的分析控制措施，对参与实验室进行相互校准；这至关重要，因为目前许多现有数据由于在这方面存在缺陷而无法进行比较或推断。墨西哥唯一的原生铅冶炼厂Met Mex Peñoles周边的情况就是一个相关例子。尽管到目前为止，政府和该公司已支持对11000多个儿童血样进行铅含量测定，但这些分析是在几个实验室进行的，没有达到使其有效或可比的最低要求；因此，尚不清楚血铅水平高于美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）建议的不同水平以确定其风险的儿童数量。最后，为了记录墨西哥环境中铅的存在及其对健康和生态平衡的不利影响，以便控制和减少其来源，仍有许多工作要做；这需要研究机构持续努力，并得到当局，特别是负责卫生和环境事务的当局的持续支持。在实现这些目标之前，无法断言墨西哥环境中的铅不再是一个问题，或者它仅限于特定来源或人群。加强控制的法律框架以提供充分的执法和监督措施也很重要；否则，现有标准和新的标准都将无助于改善这种状况。
