Resumen

BERNACHE PEREZ, Gerardo. Risk of pollution resulting from final disposal of solid wastes: A study of the west central region of Mexico. Rev. Int. Contam. Ambient [online]. 2012, vol.28, suppl.1, pp.99-107. ISSN 0188-4999.

This study focuses on the operation of landfills located in urban areas of México. Landfill operation is the weakest point in the process of solid waste management, therefore there are pollution vectors that have a direct impact on water sources, air quality and, even local populations living in nearby areas. The West-Central Region of Mexico comprises nine states and 68 urban municipalities with medium-sized, large-sized cities and metropolitan areas. This research focused on such a universe of urban areas. The study successfully obtained valuable data on waste management from 41 municipalities. Such data presents the diversity of conditions, resources and infrastructure available for solid waste management and final disposition of urban wastes. There are 10.95 million people living on those 41 municipalities (INEGI 2011) which generate 11 170 metric tons of solid wastes per day. Municipal officials in charge of waste management operation on those municipalities evaluated the quality of their work in the area of waste disposal and management of landfill, the average score was 76 points in a 100-point scale. Such evaluations points out a "regular" standard and might indicate also that landfills on the region posse an environmental risk factor since they may be source of a significant pollution for local and regional ecosystems.

Palabras llave : solid wastes; garbage; landfills; leachate; Mexican cities.

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