In Mexico, a clean-air bucket brigade

A grass-roots group to monitor air quality has sprouted in one of Latin America's largest industrial corridors.

from the March 4, 2008 edition

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Now organized under the Apetac umbrella and headed by Rodriguez, the movement's 3,000 members seek to increase community participation. They view the "bucket brigade" as the perfect vehicle.

The San Francisco-based Global Community Monitor first launched the low-cost system in the 1990s, and has since trained communities in 19 different countries and 20 US states. They train them not only to collect samples, but to use the data to press companies to clean up and politicians to enforce tighter responsibility laws. "It's an empowerment model," says Denny Larson, who heads the organization.

Their first Latin American project was in Mexico, where they helped launch Apetec's project two years ago. Since then, Rodriguez says, he has trained some 150 people, from fishermen to members of women's groups – but mostly youths. This month they are planning to send a third batch of samples to a lab in the US. (Mexico lacks a certified laboratory of its own.)

The workshops have piqued the interest of many who had never given the environment a thought. "I became curious about what I'm breathing," says Ezequiel Jimenez, who has since become a leader in the youth movement, collecting money to pay for sending samples to the US.

While Mexico does monitor air quality in more than 20 parts of the country, including its infamously polluted capital, Mexico City, there are no government-run monitors in this region, according to the website of the National Institute of Ecology. They did not respond to requests for an interview.

Cecilia Navarro from Greenpeace México says the work of the "bucket brigade" is crucial. This is particularly true, many say, in a country that has weak environmental laws, and where many politicians have not fought against big industry. Their tests revealed high toxin levels, including levels of benzene 130 times higher than the maximum approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency – and carbon disulfide, which has been associated with birth defects and other illnesses.

Apetac has written letters to local politicians about their results, but they still need to carry out more tests, says Bozada, who advises the group.

Controversial effort

Trying to develop environmental consciousness in Ixhuatlan del Sureste has not been easy. Rodriguez was sued by a peroxides plant for defamation. His wife, Julia Cano el Faro, says he is constantly harassed. In pushing against local industry, the group often runs up against Pemex, which funds up to 40 percent of Mexico's national budget. It is also one of the largest employers in the region.

"These efforts have always been controversial," says Anna Zalik, an assistant environmental professor from York University in Canada who helped Apetac launch the "bucket brigade." "People in the region are aware of the environmental impacts, but in this case, the economy is so dependent on that industry. They are concerned about their health, but they are also worried about employment."

She and many others say the Rodriguez family's dogged persistence is paying off. Rodriguez says Pemex has been more responsive to their complaints, and the government has been open to their work. He was recently hired by the local mayor's office to carry out a reforestation project with several community youths.

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