Pulse Point Newsletter for January 26, 2000
Published by Alliance Consulting International
Partners in Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety
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MEXICO'S SEMARNAP AGENCY UPDATES HAZARDOUS WASTE RULE
by Enrique Medina, MS, CIH

Mexico's newly revised proposed standard NOM-052-ECOL-1999, which establishes the characteristics of hazardous wastes, took effect this January 19, ninety days after its publication in the Mexican federal register (Diario Oficial) on October 22, 1999.

The proposed NOM-052-ECOL-1999, which replaces the 1994 version (NOM-052-ECOL-1993), was subject to a 60-day public comment period after publication ending last December 22. While the published proposal is now an official standard, a final clarification is likely after consideration of the latest comments.

NOMs, for Official Mexican Norms, are the specific rules issued by the Secretariat of Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries (SEMARNAP, for its Spanish acronym) to implement current environmental statutes and regulations. NOM-052-ECOL-1999 is the standard that establishes the characteristics, identification procedure, classification and listing of hazardous waste. It is required reading for any generator of hazardous or toxic industrial wastes.

The new rule’s format is different from the earlier version, although much of it will be familiar to
manufacturers. At first look, it appears that the maximum allowable concentrations of hazardous constituents that determine toxicity have remained the same as in the original NOM, as have most of the classifications of process and listed hazardous wastes. However, generators should double-check the limits for their particular waste streams to make sure.

Some of the important changes in the revised rule include:


There is a new section establishing procedures for determining and reporting the toxicity characteristics of
generated hazardous waste, in cases where the generator intends to reclassify a listed waste as non-hazardous.
It mandates the use of an accredited laboratory not only for testing the waste but also for sample collection.

While environmental laboratories in Mexico’s interior routinely perform this test, the common practice among the
border maquiladora industry is for hazardous waste management companies to run a waste profile prior to
exporting the waste to the U.S. This may work for listed wastes, which do not require testing, but will not be
acceptable for de-listing a waste stream or classifying an unknown waste. The relative scarcity of accredited
laboratories in the Mexican border area, combined with an average price of $600-$800 US dollars for each test,
may pose a special burden on the border industry.

The revised NOM-052 helps to clear up some inconsistencies in Mexico’s hazardous waste regulations, such as
the use of empty containers. While there are still more gray areas to address and a major shortage of hazardous
waste disposal sites in Mexico, SEMARNAP is hoping to achieve better compliance through the revised
standard.
PP

Pati Jacobs of Market Strategies International, publisher of EnviroMexico, a newsletter focusing on NAFTA
environmental and energy issues, provided assistance for this article. For additional information on EnviroMexico
and to purchase English translations of Mexican regulations, contact MSI at (512) 321-2725 or by email at
pjenviro@sprintmail.com

ARE MEXICAN MAQUILADORAS STILL REQUIRED TO RETURN THEIR HAZARDOUS
WASTE TO THE U.S.?
by Enrique Medina, MS, CIH

There continues to be considerable confusion among the maquiladora sector, which operates under a special,
temporary import tariff waiver, concerning the long-standing requirement to return hazardous waste to the U.S.
The change in the current practice was expected to follow in parallel with the disappearance of the
maquiladora status resulting from NAFTA’s tariff reductions. However, EPA and SEMARNAP working
groups have issued a statement indicating that the requirement to export waste will continue, regardless of the
status of the maquiladora program. This is based on the fact that as per Mexican Customs law, if the original
hazardous materials were imported under a temporary status, any resulting by-products may not remain in
Mexico. The alternative is for the importer to pay full import duties, in which case any waste generated may be
disposed in Mexico following established requirements.

This option is not new and has been used to a limited extent by some import manufacturers. The barriers to
widespread use stem in part from the fact that Mexico has only one authorized, operating hazardous waste
disposal site, located in the Northern region outside Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. To many maquiladoras, this
makes transportation a significant cost factor, compared to facilities located in the U.S.

Another factor is the perceived uncertainty over long term liability exposure from landfilling in Mexico. U.S.
corporate parents of many maquiladora plants are more comfortable disposing their wastes at permitted U.S.
facilities where they have long-standing contracts, and which have better insurance coverage. For wastes
amenable to thermal destruction, it is also much easier to find a site in the U.S. than in Mexico, and generators
are better able to conduct regular due diligence audits applying U.S. standards at their contracted disposal
facilities.

Taking into account official statistics indicating that only approximately 10% of Mexico’s eight million tons/year
of hazardous waste is properly managed (National Institute of Ecology, 1997), Mexican and U.S. regulators are
sure to encourage maquiladora facilities to continue the existing practice for the foreseeable future.

If you have specific questions about hazardous waste management options at your facility or need help
interpreting Mexican environmental regulations you can contact us at (619) 297-1469 or send us an email at
emedina@pulse-point.com.
PP

Enrique Medina, MS, CIH
Principal
Alliance Consulting International
Partners in Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety
3361 28th St.
San Diego, California 92104
(619)297-1469
(fax (619)297-1023
emedina@pulse-point.com

For articles in previous issues of Pulse Point visit our web site's "archive" section at: www.pulse-point.com/
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