Chemicals from textile company dye a river red in State of Mexico

The bright red neighbors from Echegaray and La Florida, in Naucalpan, State of Mexico, observed in the Chico de los Remedios river, comes from a textile company, supervised by the Agency of Drinking Water, Sewerage and Purification (OAPAS,) informed the authorities.

After the alarm reported by neighbors with respect to the red waters, which degraded to violet and blue colors, workers from the OAPAS started tracking down the discharges and found that they came from the area of Santa Cruz Acatlán.

According to the OAPAS, they are from the company Cualitex, SA de CV.

OAPAS took a sample of the waters and ordered a laboratory analysis to verify that the discharges complied with the Official Mexican Standard (NOM) demanded by the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), informed spokespersons from the city council.

The analysis will be ready in a couple of days, meanwhile, the OAPAS filed a procedural document which could result in a sanction, if toxic or hazardous elements are detected.

“Initially the water samples seem to show that the residues do not put in danger the health of the people,” declared authorities from Naucalpan.

Paseo Jerusalén, equipped with children's playgrounds and a running track, was placed next to the river, “which besides feces, it has chemical substances and God knows what else, proof of it is the bright red of the waters running here on Sunday,” said concerned neighbors of La Florida.

Moreover, the children's playgrounds and the running track were located under high voltage power lines, which could generate health problems, they lamented.

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