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Mexico: Severe pollution of the River Santiago affects the right to food and to health of the people who live along its riverside

Beginning of Action: 03-12-2007 - End of Action: 10-04-2008

Over the last three decades, the Santiago River has had to cope with waste waters from the chemical-pharmaceutical, food and drink, textile, non-metallic mineral, metal-working, electric and electronic industries, as well as local waste sewage waters. Due to the heavy pollution of the river, for nearly 120,000 people living in the riverside towns of Juanacatlán and El Salto, Jalisco state, the food and income sources from agricultural and farming activities have been totally or partially destroyed. Diseases such as cancer and respiratory illnesses, especially among children have spread.

Background

The river Santiago has its source in Lake Chapala and a length of 475 kilometres. It runs to the Pacific Ocean, flowing through the towns of Juanacatlán and El Salto. Among the industries that let a lot of waste into the river are Celanese Mexicana, Ciba Especialidades Químicas, IBM Mexico, Nestlé, Industrias Ocotlán and Harinera de Maíz de Jalisco. Some of them have sewage treatment plants, but their waste waters do not comply with the corresponding standards. Furthermore, most of the industrial plants do not carry out sewage treatments. In addition to industrial sewage, the river Santiago is also polluted by industrial sludge, as well as by local sewage and highly toxic liquids coming from open-air dumps. According to the Mexican Water Quality Index, the water in El Salto is excessively polluted, unacceptable for human consumption, and does not meet the regulations to be considered suitable for irrigation purposes. Several tests have shown that the river water contains high levels of methylene blue active substances, a large amount of dissolved solids, oils and grease, high levels of ammonia and phosphats, lead and zinc concentrations exceeding the limits to protect the aquatic life and inadmissible levels of fecal coliforms. In some areas, benzenes –recognised cancerous substances- have also been found. 
Long- term epidemiological studies are necessary to set out scientifically the cause-effect relation between the diseases and the pollution. These have not been carried out yet.
However, the testimonies of the inhabitants are alarming. In 2005, respiratory illnesses and several types of cancer were the main death causes in Juanacatlán. According to a study on the impact of sulfhydric acid emanating from the waterfall of El Salto in  Juanacatlán, the children attending riverside schools have been seriously affected. Many of them suffered regularly from respiratory illnesses, throat pain, skin diseases, conjunctivitis and other problems.
Three decades ago, Juanacatlán was chiefly a tourist and agricultural town. The river pollution has destroyed partially or totally food (crops, fruit trees, fishing, farming) and income sources (tourism, agricultural and farming activities) on common lands and of small peasants living in that region. It is not easy to calculate the economic damage caused in the last few years, but many people reported having lost their livelihoods and having been forced to work temporarily in the United States or to emigrate permanently to other places. In spite of the high pollution, the water is still being used to irrigate fields and to feed animals, so the consumption of the food produced under these circumstances represents a serious risk for the health.

FIAN Mandate

Mexico is a State Party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It has therefore the obligation under international human rights law to respect, protect and fulfil the right to water of the population. Moreover, article 4 of the Mexican Constitution sets out the right to food and health of every child and the right to a healthy environment. The failure of the Mexican authorities to address the pollution of the Santiago River violates the human right to water, food and health. The Government must take immediate action to provide water for human consumption and irrigation to the affected communities, and any further pollution of the river must be avoided.

Call to Action

Please, send a letter to the President of the Republic, with copy to the National Water Commission, requesting them to comply with their obligations related to the human right to water and to food and to guarantee the access to drinking water.

URGENT ACTION 0721UMEX

Original Letter:

Excelentísimo Sr Presidente,

recientemente he tenido noticias de la gravísima situación en la que viven los/as habitantes de los municipios de Juanacatlán y El Salto, estado de Jalisco, a causa de la severa contaminación del Río Santiago. Desde hace tres décadas, el Río Santiago es receptor de descargas residuales industriales y municipales.
Según los Indices de Calidad de Agua de la Comisión Nacional del Agua, el agua de El Salto es clasificada como contaminada en exceso, inaceptable como agua potable y fuera de los límites permitidos para considerarla adecuada para el uso en riego. Diversos análisis efectuados muestran que el agua del río contiene altos niveles de sustancias activas al azul de metileno, gran cantidad de sólidos disueltos, presencia de grasas y aceites, altos niveles de amoníaco y fosfato, concentraciones de plomo y de zinc arriba de los límites para proteger la vida acuática, niveles de coliformes fecales inadmisibles. En algunos puntos también se han encontrado bencenos, sustancia cancerígena reconocida.
En el 2005 las principales causas de muerte en Juanacatlán fueron las enfermedades respiratorias y diversos tipos de cáncer. Según un estudio sobre el impacto  del ácido sulfhídrico que se desprende de la cascada de El Salto de Juanacatlán, se observó que los/as niños/as de escuelas aledañas han sido severamente afectados. Muchos de ellos padecen regularmente de enfermedades respiratorias, dolor de garganta, enfermedades de la piel, conjuntivitis, y otras dolencias.
La contaminación del río ha destruido parcial o totalmente las fuentes de alimentos (cultivos, árboles frutales, pesca, ganado) y de ingresos (turismo, actividad agropecuaria) de los/as ejidatarios y pequeños/as propietarios/as que habitan en la región. Numerosas personas reportaron que han perdido sus recursos de subsistencia y han tenido que ir a trabajar temporalmente a Estados Unidos o emigrar definitivamente a otros lugares. A pesar de la alta contaminación, el agua sigue siendo utilizada para el riego y la cría de animales con todo el riesgo para la salud  que implica consumir esos alimentos.
México es Estado Parte del Pacto Internacional de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales y, por tanto, está obligado por el derecho internacional de derechos humanos a proteger y garantizar el derecho al agua, a la alimentación y a la salud de su población. En aras de abogar por la protección de estos derechos, quisiera solicitarle respetuosamente que:
las autoridades competentes del fuero federal y estatal implementen un programa integral de saneamiento del Río Santiago que cumpla a cabalidad con la normatividad en materia de descargas de aguas residuales;
se establezca un programa interinstitucional de monitoreo permanente de la calidad del agua del Río Santiago;
se tomen acciones urgentes para atender la emergencia sanitaria y se realicen los estudios epidemiológicos necesarios para determinar los impactos en la salud;
se establezca la responsabilidad de instituciones públicas y privadas derivada de acciones u omisiones en materia de salud y medio ambiente y que lleve a la reparación de los daños causados.
Le agradezco que me mantenga informado de todas las acciones que su gobierno tome a este respecto.

Atentamente,

Translated Letter:

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Dear Mr. President,
I have recently heard about the severe situation suffered by the people of the towns of Juanacatlán and El Salto, state of Jalisco, due to the serious pollution of the river Santiago. For three decades, the river Santiago has received waste waters from factories and other sources. According to the Water Quality Indexes of the Water National Commission, the water in El Salto is excessively polluted, unacceptable for human consumption, and it does not comply with the regulations to be considered suitable for irrigation purposes. Several tests show that the river water contains high levels of methylene blue active substances, a large amount of dissolved solids, oils and grease, high levels of ammonia an phosphates, lead and zinc concentrations exceeding the limits to protect the aquatic life and inadmissible levels of fecal coliforms. In some areas, benzenes –a recognised cancerous substance- have also been found. 
In 2005, respiratory illnesses and several types of cancer were the main causes for death in Juanacatlán. According to a study on the impact of sulfhydric acid emanating from the waterfall of El Salto in Juanacatlán, children attending riverside schools have been seriously affected. Many of them suffered regularly from respiratory illnesses, throat pain, skin diseases, conjunctivitis and other problems.
The river pollution has destroyed partially or totally food production (crops, fruit trees, fishing, farming) and income sources (tourism, agricultural and farming activities) on common lands and of small peasants living in that region. It is not easy to calculate the economic damage caused in the last few years, but many people reported having lost their livelihoods and having been forced to work temporarily in the United States or to emigrate permanently to other places. In spite of the high pollution, the water is still being used to irrigate and to feed the animals, so the consumption of the respective food products is a serious risk for health.
Mexico is a State Party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It has therefore the obligation under international human rights law to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to water, to food and to health of the population. In order to defend the protection of these rights, I would like to ask for the competent authorities of the federal and state jurisdictions:
- to implement a comprehensive cleaning-up programme for the river Santiago, in compliance with sewage standards;
- to establish an inter-institutional programme to permanently monitor the water quality of river Santiago;
-  to take urgent action, in order to cover the health emergency, and to carry out the necessary epidemiological studies to determine the impacts on human health;
- to set out the responsibility of public and private institutions concerning the actions or omissions in terms of health and environment, and to solve the damages that have been caused.
I would be very grateful to be kept informed of all actions taken by your Government in this regard, with best regards, 


Recipients:

Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa
Presidente Constitucional de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx)
José Luis Luege Tamargo
Director de la Comisión Nacional del Agua (direcciong@cna.gob.mx)
INSTITUTO MEXICANO PARA EL DESARROLLO COMUNITARIO, A.C. (IMDEC)