From panna@igc.apc.org Fri Mar 11 23:30:36 1994
Date: 11 Mar 94 14:10 PST
From: Pesticide Action Network North America Reg Ctr <panna@igc.apc.org>
To: "Recipients of conference panna.panups" <panna.panups@conf.igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: panna.panups
Subject: PANUPS: Mexico US Toxic Inventory

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   PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK NORTH AMERICA UPDATES SERVICE
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Mexican and U.S. NGOs Conduct Model Toxics Inventory

March 11, 1994

A Mexican and U.S. NGO have recently completed two precedent-
setting toxics inventories that may help NGOs and others 
develop local and regional inventories and may serve as 
practical models for larger scale inventories in Mexico as well 
as other nations. The two pilot project inventories were 
conducted in northeastern Sonora by Enlace Ecolgico (EECO), a 
Mexican environmental organization from the state of Sonora, 
with technical and financial assistance from Arizona Toxics 
Information (ATI). The first project focused on industrial 
chemicals used by U.S-owned maquiladoras (assembly plants) in 
the city of Agua Prieta, and the second surveyed use of 
pesticides by small farmers in the communities of Santa Cruz 
and Fronteras. Results of the inventories, identifying and 
quantifying the toxics found in the region are expected to be 
available in April.

The EECO/ATI agricultural project may be the first in Mexico to 
survey use of pesticides by small farmers, who comprise the 
largest group of farmers in the country.  (In fact, subsistence 
farmers outnumber all other types of farmers throughout the 
world.)  The ultimate goal of this pilot project is to generate 
interest and momentum towards starting a similar right-to-know 
efforts in other parts of Mexico, especially along the northern 
border. 

Unlike the type of inventory used in the U.S., commonly known 
as the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), the EECO/ATI industrial 
sector inventory includes data for emergency planning as well 
as data on pollution use and release, and was initiated and 
conducted by grassroots NGOs rather than from top-down federal 
mandates.

By cooperating with local farmers and maquiladora managers, by 
obtaining active support from local and state governments, and 
by widely disseminating the results of the surveys, the 
EECO/ATI projects may also serve to stimulate the 
implementation of other right-to-know efforts, including the 
development of state and federal toxics inventories in Mexico. 
Recently, the State of Sonora announced that it would be 
conducting a pesticide-use study of its own, and SEDESOL, the 
Mexican federal environmental agency, announced at an 
Organization (OECD) workshop in January, that it is ready to 
begin working on development of a national toxics inventory.

The OECD workshop, at which Michael Gregory of ATI reported on 
the EECO/ATI projects, was the first of six to be held in 
response to the Rio Earth Summit call for all countries to 
undertake inventories, known in international jargon as 
Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs). The evolving 
model for PRTRs, which may become the world standard, includes 
data on both point and non-point chemical use and release, 
unlike the U.S. TRI, which is limited to point sources in the 
manufacturing sector but excludes non-point sources like 
agriculture. The Netherlands PRTR, which like the EECO/ATI 
projects includes pesticides, may serve as a case study for the 
OECD and other countries.

This more comprehensive inventory may be adopted by the OECD 
because of its obvious utility for developing countries, most 
of which rely on agricultural production for a large part of 
their national incomes.  Although developing countries have 
only observer status at the OECD, observers from developing 
nations like Mexico are participating in the workshops and can 
influence the outcome. The next OECD workshop to be held June 
14-16 in Ontario, Canada, will discuss inclusion of non-point 
sources in OECD's guidance document for national PRTRs.

Source/Contact: Michael Gregory, Arizona Toxics Information, PO 
Box 1896, Bisbee, AZ 85603; phone/fax (602) 432-5374.
Contact for OECD workshops: Harvey Yakowitz, Environment 
Directorate, OECD, 2, rue de Andre Pascal, 75016, Paris, 
France; phone (33-1) 45 24 78 80; fax (33-1) 45 24 78 76.
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The Pesticide Action Network Updates Service (PANUPS) is a 
pesticide-related news service posted weekly by the Pesticide 
Action Network North America Regional Center (PANNA). PANNA is 
located at 116 New Montgomery Street, #810, San Francisco, CA 
94105. Tel: (415) 541-9140. Fax: (415) 541-9253. To receive a 
standard information packet about the Pesticide Action Network 
send a short e-mail message to panna-info@igc.apc.org.
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