Solve pollution. Save lives. Protect the planet.

SOLVING POLLUTION IN

Mexico

Zacatecas #95, Colonia Roma, Cuauhtémoc, Ciudad de México, Mexico CP: 06700
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Our Team
DANIEL ESTRADA

Country Director
[email protected]

JESUS MALDONADO

Director of Operations

CARMINA JURE CADERÓN

Institutional Development Coordinator

NETZY PERALTA

Operations Coordinator

ENGLISH

About Pure Earth Mexico

Widespread low-level lead poisoning is one of Mexico’s most critical yet unknown public health concerns. Lead in traditional pottery glaze mixes with acidic foods–like coffee, chili peppers, tomatoes and lemons–-and quickly enters bodies’ digestive systems and bloodstreams.

What is the true scope of lead poisoning in Mexico? Pure Earth has been working with researchers in Mexico, including Dr. Martha María Téllez Rojo, a lead expert with INSP, for over a decade to call attention to the health impacts from lead-glazed pottery. For the first time, we have a clearer picture from a health survey conducted by the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) in Mexico, “National report of blood lead levels and use of glazed mud in vulnerable children.”

The results reveal that at least one million children between one and four years of age (representing 22% of the study population) have elevated blood lead levels above 5 μg/dL (Note: while there is no safe level of lead, the CDC recommends health intervention at levels of 5 μg/dL and above).

“It is important to realize that this figure will rise because this result covers ONLY children living in towns with less than 100,000 inhabitants. When data from other areas of the country are analyzed, the number of children confirmed with elevated blood lead levels will most certainly go beyond the one million mark,” says Daniel Estrada, head of Pure Earth Mexico and one of the co-authors of the report. Our estimates based on extrapolation from our site assessments and including children under 14, is 13 million with elevated blood lead levels.

Up to 20% of Mexicans are poisoned by the pottery they use for daily meals at home and in restaurants across the country. Lead in traditional pottery glaze mixes with acidic foods–like coffee, chili peppers, tomatoes, and lemons–and quickly enters bodies’ digestive systems and bloodstreams.

Since 2008, Pure Earth has been working with local authorities in Mexico to address the issue of lead in pottery. Pure Earth’s Barro Aprobado project is working to raise awareness about the dangers of leaded pottery, and to promote the use and production of lead-free pottery.

The World Organization Health considers lead to be one of the most dangerous known chemicals to human health and acknowledges that no blood lead level is safe.

El Plomo en la Mesa Report

In Mexico, lead is still present in a wide array of everyday items, such as imported cosmetics, commercial candies, certain household paints, and car and electronic batteries, among others. Active and abandoned mines, metallurgy, and the lead-acid battery recycling industry are also major sources of lead-acid exposure. However, lead-oxide glaze that is traditionally used in pottery has been identified as the main cause of chronic poisoning nationwide.

Fortunately, there are solutions to this challenge. Eliminating sources of lead exposure is not only feasible but also affordable. Moreover, it can generate economic benefits. The WHO confirms that: “The economic benefits of successful interventions against lead poisoning have also proven to be enormous. These benefits far outweigh the costs of creating a national screening program, surveillance, and primary prevention of lead poisoning.”

Since this challenge is primarily linked with the pottery sector, specific interventions that facilitate artisans’ transition to lead-free glazes, while at the same time monitor the blood lead levels of children, will produce significant benefits for both the public health and the economic growth of Mexico.

Read the full report (in Spanish) here.

Watch the video of the report briefing here.

LANCET COMMISSION ON POLLUTION AND HEALTH- MEXICO SUMMARY

Pollution is responsible for 7.6% of deaths in Mexico. Learn more about how pollution affects health and the economy in Mexico by reading the Mexico Summary Report, based on the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health.

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Barrio Con Barro

One key finding is that the main source of lead poisoning in Mexico is lead-glazed traditional pottery,
that is used to cook and serve food in many homes and restaurants across the country.

 

Research finds that frequent use of traditional lead-glazed pottery correlates to higher blood lead levels. Only 11% of study subjects who reported not using lead-glazed pottery had elevated blood lead levels, compared to 46% among those that reported frequent use. This link between lead exposure and pottery was also reflected in regional data. The highest proportion of children with elevated blood lead levels (26% or 1 in 4) were found in the Southern regions of Mexico, where 40% of subjects reported using leaded pottery.


Barrio con Barro is a project that Pure Earth implemented in the Roma neighborhood, with the support of the Clarios Foundation, through its Barro Aprobado program in Mexico. This area is in a place where the supply and demand for pottery is high. In order to convert it to lead-free, it has the institutional support of authorities, commercial groups, organized civil societies and other local institutions, as reported by Daniel Estrada, Country Director for Pure Earth Mexico.

Barro Aprobado

Barro Aprobado will continue to drive a multi-sectoral strategy to control lead exposure caused by leaded pottery with the participation of lead experts and officials across various government agencies, including health, labor, tourism and economic sectors. They seek to ignite a national culture of lead-free pottery use.

Read More

Barro Aprobado 2021 Annual Report

Ongoing Projects:

Completed Projects:

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LIBRES DE PLOMO

On January 28, 2022, Azteca Noticias, one of Mexico’s largest news programs, reported on Pure Earth’s work in Mexico as part of a special assignment. The report focused on artisans from Puebla who, with Pure Earth’s help, are keeping traditional pottery alive and lead free. Watch the video now.

NOTE: This video is in Spanish. To watch in English, click Settings (gear icon), Select “Subtitles” and then “Auto-translate” – scroll down to choose English.

Featured Stories

Circle of Women: Creating Safe Spaces For Innovation And Health With Traditional Potters In Mexico
International Lead Poisoning and Prevention Week Events Reach Masses
Lead Poisoning in Newborns: The Story Of Baby X in Mexico
Barro Aprobado in New York— Reaching a Wider Market
Preserving Mexico’s Pottery Tradition, Without Toxic Lead
Lead Poisoning Affects Over 1 Million Children in Mexico; Pottery is Main Cause
The Toxic Truth

Read more about our work in Mexico:

From Mexico to Brazil: Sharing Solutions to a Pollution Problem (2018)
(Photo Essay) Mexico: Lead Exposure From Traditional Pottery (Dec. 2015)
960 Pieces of Lead-Free Pottery (2015)
Alerting Local Researchers to Mexico’s National Lead Problem (2015)
A Tale of Three Cleanups (2015)
Want Lead-Free Food? Visit the first “Barro Aprobado” Restaurant in Mexico (2014)
Fact Sheet: Mexico’s 500 Year-Old Problem (2014)

Partners and Donors

With the support of the European Commission and HSBC, Pure Earth launched its Lead and Health Initiative in Mexico in three states. The multi-faceted strategy includes community education on health dangers and economic benefits of safer practices; training potters in using lead-free glaze, marketing and workplace remediation; building demand for lead-free pottery by engaging the hospitality industry; and enforcement of complementary regulations.

Government Agencies

  • FONART
  • COFEPRIS
  • INSP
  • IMSS

Corporations

  • Clarios Foundation
  • Fondo Canadá
  • HSBC
  • Meridian Bioscience
  • CANIRAC Zona Norte de la Ciudad de México– (National Restaurant Association)
  • Consejo de Salubridad General
  • Pacto por la Primera Infancia
  • Universidad Autónoma de Morelos

    Programmatic Solutions

    Research on Lead Sources
    Research on Lead Sources

    In Mexico, the primary source of lead is lead-glazed pottery; we constantly measure blood lead levels and interview people with high Blood Lead Levels to identify other possible sources of lead.

    Toxic Site Assessments
    Toxic Site Assessments

    The TSIP program was active in Mexico from 2012 until 2018, with the rapid assessment of more than 150 sites reviewed on Pollution.org.

    Lead Remediation Program
    Lead Remediation Program

    We promote lead remediation through clean-ups of potter studies that no longer use lead-based glazes. We encourage communities to replace lead-glazed pottery with lead-free pottery in their restaurants, stores, and houses.

    Advocacy and Campaigns
    Advocacy and Campaigns

    We work in coordination with the General Health Council to eliminate the use of lead-glazed pottery in Mexico.

    Events

    Barrio con Barro

    October 24-30th, 2021

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    Press Releases

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    News Coverage

    Stay up to date with our work:

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    Knowledge Materials

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    Find public education materials and research: