López Porras Gabriel, Allard Patrick
Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México.
Institute for Society and Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Water Res X. 2024 Nov 19;26:100283. doi: 10.1016/j.wroa.2024.100283. eCollection 2025 Jan 1.
In response to water scarcity in Mexico´s urban areas, authorities have implemented significant measures to increase water access, primarily by overexploiting groundwater resources. However, this approach has unintentionally worsened human exposure to groundwater arsenic consumption, which is part of a broader phenomenon known as environmental problem shifting. This paper examines the public health implications of arsenic contamination in Mexico's groundwater. We particularly focus our analysis on urban areas to demonstrate the policy gap that leaves the issue of arsenic contamination caused by over-pumping, and its associated widespread health risks, largely unaddressed. We draw on evidence from Mexico, but also Bangladesh, to define and describe the issue of such problem-shifting and how it underlies the urgent need to develop integrative water management strategies that balance the demands of water access with the necessity of maintaining water quality. By analysing water data from Mexico, the paper calls for a reconsideration of water policies to prevent further health crises.
为应对墨西哥城市地区的水资源短缺问题，当局已采取重大措施来增加供水，主要方式是过度开采地下水资源。然而，这种做法无意间加剧了人类因饮用含砷地下水而受到的影响，这是一个被称为环境问题转移的更广泛现象的一部分。本文探讨了墨西哥地下水中砷污染对公众健康的影响。我们特别将分析重点放在城市地区，以揭示政策差距，即过度抽水导致的砷污染问题及其相关的广泛健康风险在很大程度上未得到解决。我们借鉴了墨西哥以及孟加拉国的证据，来界定和描述这种问题转移现象，以及它如何凸显了制定综合水资源管理战略的迫切需求，这种战略要在增加供水需求与维持水质必要性之间取得平衡。通过分析来自墨西哥的水数据，本文呼吁重新审视水资源政策，以防止进一步的健康危机。
