Mining leachate contamination and subfecundity among women living near the USA-Mexico border.

The contamination of the Sonora River with 40,000 m of toxic leachate released from a copper mine on August 6, 2014, was considered the worst environmental disaster of the mining industry in Mexico, exceeding safety levels in the concentrations of heavy metals and arsenic. To explore the potential association of the toxic release with subfecundity, by comparing time to pregnancy (TTP) of women with different levels of exposure at municipalities located along the Sonora River watershed, just 35 km south of the Arizona-Mexico border. Data from 235 pregnancies were included in a retrospective cohort study.

[Biodiversity and depressive symptoms in Mexican adults: Exploration of beneficial environmental effects].

Introduction: Depression is a highly prevalent illness among adults, and it is the second most frequently reported mental disorder in urban settings in México. Exposure to natural environments and its components may improve the mental health of the population.

Objective: To evaluate the association between biodiversity indicators and the prevalence of depressive symptoms among the adult population (20 to 65 years of age) in México.

Recruiting strategy and 24-hour biomonitoring of paraquat in agricultural workers.

The objectives of this study were to recruit agricultural workers in Costa Rica to participate in a 24-hour urine collection for paraquat exposure assessment and to compare the 24-hour sampling to end-of-shift sampling. The authors recruited 187 handlers and 54 nonhandlers from coffee, banana, and palm oil plantations. The completeness of 24-hour urine samples collected (a total of 393 samples) was confirmed by questionnaire and urinary creatinine level.