GIS-based approach to zoning the risk associated with municipal solid waste management: application to regional scale.

The objective of this paper is to offer an approach to assess the risk associated with Municipal Solid Wastes, in a geospatial context. Initially, a risk index including hazard, vulnerability and other important variables was built. The built model is based on multi-criteria evaluation techniques and geographic information systems.

Organophosphorus and Organochlorine Pesticides Bioaccumulation by Eichhornia crassipes in Irrigation Canals in an Urban Agricultural System.

A natural wetland in Mexico City Metropolitan Area is one of the main suppliers of crops and flowers, and in consequence its canals hold a high concentration of organochlorine (OC) and organophosphorus (OP) pesticides. There is also an extensive population of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), which is considered a plague; but literature suggests water hyacinth may be used as a phytoremediator. This study demonstrates bioaccumulation difference for the OC in vivo suggesting their bioaccumulation is ruled by their log K(ow), while all the OP showed bioaccumulation regardless of their log K(ow).

Conostegia xalapensis (Melastomataceae): an aluminum accumulator plant.

In acidic soils, an excess of Al³⁺ is toxic to most plants. The Melastomataceae family includes Al-accumulator genera that tolerate high Al³⁺ by accumulating it in their tissues. Conostegia xalapensis is a common shrub in Mexico and Central America colonizing mainly disturbed areas.

Identification of environmentally vulnerable areas with priority for prevention and management of pipeline crude oil spills.

The oil industry is one of the main productive activities in Mexico and has a huge infrastructure, including a wide pipeline network that crosses urban, industrial, agricultural and natural areas. The threat of crude oil spills is greatest in those regions with a high concentration of oil extraction and refining activities, as in the case of the Coatzacoalcos and Tonalá Rivers Low Basin. This study ranked the geosystems of the basin in terms of vulnerability to pipeline crude oil spills.