After the articles were published, regulators from the Mexican federal agency in charge of environmental inspection and enforcement, known by its acronym, Profepa, began an investigation and spent seven days at the Zinc Nacional plant, which recycles hazardous waste from the steel industry to recover zinc.
The Guardian and Quinto Elemento Lab, a Mexican investigative journalism unit, collaborated with toxicologist Martín Soto Jiménez, who conducted sampling in neighboring homes and schools and found high levels of lead, cadmium and arsenic in soil and dust samples taken within 2km from the plant – including inside some homes and schools.
Also in a press release, Zinc Nacional said it had been cooperating with officials from the federal agency and has also had visits from state health, labor and environmental agencies, as well as local officials from San Nicolás de los Garza, the municipality where it is located.
Mexican environmental regulators say they have discovered 30,000 tons of improperly stored material with “hazardous characteristics” in the yard of a Mexican plant that is recycling toxic waste shipped from the US.
Mexico authorities order factory cleanup after Guardian toxic waste investigation Inquiry uncovered health problems in neighborhood near Monterrey-area plant that processes US hazardous waste.
