Albert L A
Sociedad Mexicana de Toxicología, Veracruz, Mexico.
Rev Environ Contam Toxicol. 1996;147:1-44. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4612-4058-7_1.
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.
作为国际社会近期对持久性有机污染物及其环境与健康危害关注度上升的一部分，人们发现，尽管其中大多数在发达国家已受到严格管控，但在包括墨西哥在内的大多数发展中国家，它们的进口、使用，在某些情况下甚至生产一直持续至今，且缺乏充分或适当的管控。尽管墨西哥在农业、公共卫生和工业领域持续大量使用持久性有机化学品，但关于它们的进口、生产、使用、处置以及其残留物在环境、食品和人体组织中的存在情况的数据极为稀少且分散。本综述仅专注于墨西哥持久性农药的使用情况；这是首次查找、收集和分析这些信息，并总结和讨论墨西哥对这些化学品管控的过去和现状。本综述讨论了该国使用这些农药的总体背景，包括历史发展、在供出口作物中用持久性较低的产品进行替代的原因，以及这种替代对流动农业工人健康产生的不良影响。介绍了墨西哥农药管控法律框架的现状，重点强调了其发展缓慢且杂乱无章的情况；突出了现有法规和标准执行与监督不足的法律、技术和行政原因。还讨论了墨西哥科技当局对这一研究领域的低优先级，以及这种低优先级对墨西哥环境和人体中农药残留存在足够可靠数据的负面影响。列出了墨西哥持久性农药生产和使用的现有数据，并总结了该国关于它们在环境、生物群、食品和人体组织中残留的现有信息；包含主要研究地点的地图，以强调该国大部分地区，特别是偏远地区以及种植供当地、国内或自给自足作物的农业地区缺乏信息的情况。在特定章节中讨论了这些研究的主要特点，并在此基础上对现状和近期未来进行了总体评论。结论总结了所呈现的信息，特别强调需要改进和更新法律框架，并加强监督和执行法规所需的技术和行政基础设施。强调了开展新研究，特别是跨学科研究以确定墨西哥这些化学品当前污染模式的紧迫性。
