One of the most deplorable examples of a United States-owned maquiladora is Metales y sus Derivados. Over a period of 22 years this battery recycling plant and lead smelter developed a long history of problems associated with their handling hazardous waste. In March, 1994 the Mexican government shut down this maquiladora for repeated environmental violations.

The factory is now abandoned. The owner, a United States citizen who is living and working in San Diego, has refused to clean up any of the toxic waste that is spread throughout the location.

More than 5,400 tons of toxic waste including lead, sulphuric acid and arsenic are exposed to the sun, wind, and rain. The chemical waste is so powerful that it is disintegrating the cinder blocks of the containment wall.

The toxic wastes are seeping into the ground and are carried downhill into the local water supply of Colonia Chilpancingo, a community of about 1,000 people. There has been very little public education about the dangers of these toxic wastes. The people of Chilpancingo use a dirt walkway that runs alongside of Metales to get to and from work at the other local maquiladoras. In 1995, a containment wall was built around Metales to prevent children from playing within the site and also to prevent local residents from using the scrap metal in the construction of their homes. Many people from Chilpancingo are suffering from high rates of health problems such as dizziness, nausea, asthma, gastrointestinal problems, chronic skin and eye irritations, and birth defects including hydroanencephaly.

A petition on behalf of these people has been filed by the Environmental Health Coalition and the Comité Ciudadano Pro Restauración del Cañón del Padre, A.C.. The petition is currently being considered by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, which was established as part of the NAFTA side agreement to facilitate cooperation between Canada, Mexico and the United States.

After our trip to Tijuana, we wrote and signed a student letter to the CEC urging immediate cooperation and action between the governments of Mexico and the United States. We strongly feel that the toxic wastes need to be cleaned up, the owner needs to be extradited and prosecuted in Mexico, and most of all, education and healthcare needs to be provided for the residents that live next to Metales.

Additional Information

Metales was not the first maquiladora of its kind to be closed by the Mexican Government. Alco Pacifico, was also a U.S.-owned battery recycling plant and lead smelter. It too, was located in Tijuana and was shut down in 1991. The 30,000 tons of abandoned toxic waste from Alco Pacifico was simply moved to CYTRAR, yet another toxic waste site located in Hermosillo.