Representatives from the SMOC Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Standing Committee (EM&A SC) will present an overview of Mexico’s PRONAME Program and other EM&A activities, including monitoring results. Panelists discussed how the program complements other national, regional, and international monitoring efforts during the CEC Chemicals Management Forum in San Antonio, Texas, on May 16, 2012. More at: http://www.cec.org/chemicals2012

1. Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment Standing Committee
(EM&A)
Chemicals Management Forum
San Antonio, Texas
May 15-16, 2012
Commission for Environmental Cooperation

2. Background
• 1999: North American Regional Action Plan (NARAP) on
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (EM&A) in support of
the SMOC initiative that, among other things, promotes
collaboration in acquiring environmental data and information to
assess exposure to substances of concern and the risks they pose
to human health and the environment
• 2008: Develop and implement a sustainable regional approach to
environmental and human biomonitoring and assessment to
enhance North American monitoring capacity, with an early
emphasis on supporting Mexico in the initial stages of
implementation of its National Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment Program (Programa Nacional de Monitoreo y
Evaluación Ambiental—Proname)
• 2010: The EMA SC supports the Sound Management of
Chemicals Working Group in “…continental management of
chemicals of concern.”
2

3. What it does
• Serve as a trinational forum for promoting
cooperation and sharing knowledge in monitoring
and assessing persistent toxic substances in the
North American environment
• Work to improve the comparability, quality,
relevance and availability of environmental
information on the status, trends of persistent
toxic substances
• Direct beneficiaries are governments, academics
and private laboratories in Mexico
3

4. Objectives and Goals of EM&A
• Assist the Parties in increasing the comparability,
reliability, relevance and availability of data and
information on chemicals
• Seek to improve the information needed to identify
and assess trends and concerns related to
contaminants and stressors that affect the
environment and human health
• In order to ensure an integrated North American data
set, place continued emphasis on supporting Mexico’s
monitoring and evaluation program (Programa
Nacional de Monitoreo y Evaluación Ambiental—
Proname)
4

5. Highlights of EM&A Work
1. Comparability/Reliability of Data
• Training: e.g., POPs in environmental matrices
• Workshops: e.g., Chemical data analysis, modelling
atmospheric fate and transport
• Intercalibration exercises: e.g., Atmospheric
chemistry
• Lab validation exercises: e.g., Developed guidelines
for interlaboratory validation
• Guidance documents: e.g., Biomonitoring
initiatives
5

6. Highlights of EM&A Work (cont’d)
2. Information for assessing trends and concerns
– Trinational blood biomonitoring project
– Compendium of trinational monitoring initiatives
– Supporting SMOC initiatives, including gathering
information on:
– PCBs
– Lindane
– DDT
– Mercury
– Dioxins and Furans
3. Mexico’s monitoring and evaluation program
(Programa Nacional de Monitoreo y Evaluación
Ambiental—Proname)
6

7. North American Trilateral Maternal Blood Study
The purpose of this sampling was to obtain an initial
profile of levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) Results:
and metals in pregnant women from Canada, Mexico
and the United States. •As expected, mothers from Mexico had higher
SAMPLING SITES concentrations of p,p’-DDT and p,p’-DDE due to
its more recent use in Mexico. Lower
concentrations of PCBs were seen in Mexican
mothers compared to those in Canada and the
United States.
•In Mexico, it was found that mothers of
Coatzacoalcos, a center of the Mexican
petrochemical industry, had the highest
concentration of several POPs (p,p -DDE p,p -
DDT, PCDDs)
•Merida, an urban area without major sources of
contaminant exposure, had higher concentrations
of several PCB congeners
Conclusion
This study provides an indication of the concentrations of POPs/metals in pregnant women in North
America and Mexico, plus the need for an ongoing surveillance program among vulnerable
populations to pinpoint sources of higher exposure.
7

8. Wet Deposition of Hg in North America (2003)
First subcontinental Mercury Monitoring Network for the three countries: Canada, Mexico and the USA
.
8

9. PART 2
Proname
National PBT Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment
Program

10. General Objective
• Reduce and/or eliminate persistent
bioaccumulative and toxic substances in
Mexican ecosystems, through a long-term
(more than 25 years) national
environmental-biological monitoring
program that contributes to ecosystem and
human health.
10

11. Proname Sites in Operation 2009
2010
Cd Juárez 2012
Future sites
Valle del
Yaqui
Mapimí
Monterrey
Sinaloa
Celestún
Zacatecas Huasteca
Potosina Coatzacalcos
Salamanca
Manantlá
n Valle de
Lacandon
Bravo Pochutla jungle
11

12. Substances and Environmental Compartments
(Proname) Environmental
media &
components 2009 to date
10 initial POPs
(organochlorine pesticides)
Persistent soil Metals (Hg, Cd and
Pb, among others)
bioaccumulative toxic Polyaromatic hydrocarbons
substances (PBTs) PCBs
sediment
2011-2012
12 initial POPs
water (organochlorine pesticides)
Metals (Hg, Cd and
Pb, among others)
Polyaromatic hydrocarbons
air PCBs
+ 10 new POPs (selection)
Implementation of
biota biomonitoring program
(2012)
Institutional strategy to
Humans begin biomonitoring
program - To be defined
12

13. Presence of Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic Substances at Proname Sites, in
Different Environmental Media & Components
Valle del Yaqui, Son.
WATER BIOTA (Animal) BIOTA (Plant) SOIL SEDIMENT
2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011
Metals
PAH
PCB
POP
R.B. Ría Celestún, Yuc.
WATER BIOTA (Animal) BIOTA (Plant) SOIL SEDIMENT
2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011
Metals
PAH
PCB
POP
Coatzacoalcos, Ver..
Starting in
2012
R.B. Sierra de Manatlán, Jal.
WATER BIOTA (Animal) BIOTA (Plant) SOIL SEDIMENT Valle de Bravo, Edo de Mex.
2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011
Metals
PAH
WATER BIOTA (Animal) BIOTA (Plant) SOIL SEDIMENT
PCB
2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011
POP
Metals
PAH
PCB
No sampling POP

14. Metals
PRONAME
25000 ------- 6.6 mg/kg inorganic mercury
Farm soil
Canadian Soil Quality Guidelines for
20000
the Protection of Environmental and
Human Health
15000
10000
mg/kg
5000
0
CELESTÚN
CELESTÚN
CELESTÚN
2009 MANATLÁN
2010 MANATLÁN
2011 V-YAQUI
2010 V-YAQUI
2011 V-BRAVO
2010 V-BRAVO
2011
2010
2011
MERCURIO (suelo) PLOMO (suelo) MERCURIO (sedimento) PLOMO (sedimento)
14

15. Organochlorine Pesticides
PRONAME
0.7 mg/kg Total DDT
Farm soil
Canadian Soil Quality Guidelines for
35 the Protection of Environmental and
Human Health
30
25
20
15
mg/kg
10
5
0
CELESTÚN
CELESTÚN
CELESTÚN
MANATLÁN
MANATLÁN
V-YAQUI
V-YAQUI
V-BRAVO
V-BRAVO
2009
2010
2011
2010
2011
2010
2011
2010
4,4'-DDE (agua) 4,4'-DDT (agua) 4,4'-DDE (músculo) 4,4'-DDT (músculo)
2011
4,4'-DDE (hígado) 4,4'-DDT (hígado) 4,4'-DDE (B-vegetal) 4,4'-DDT (B-vegetal)
4,4'-DDE (suelo) 4,4'-DDT (suelo) 4,4'-DDE (sedimento) 4,4'-DDT (sedimento)
15

16. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
PRONAME
101,500
85,000,000
80,000,000 ------- 0.1 mg/kg Naphthalene
140,000
Farm soil
Canadian Soil Quality Guidelines for
the Protection of Environmental
and Human Health
16

17. Polychlorinated Biphenyls
PRONAME
------- 0.5 mg/kg PCBs
80000
Farm soil
70000 Canadian Soil Quality Guidelines for
60000 the Protection of Environmental
and Human Health
50000
ng/kg
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
CELESTÚN
CELESTÚN
CELESTÚN
MANATLÁN
MANATLÁN
V-YAQUI
V-YAQUI
V-BRAVO
V-BRAVO
2009
2010
2011
2010
2011
2010
2011
2010
2011
3,4,4'-TRICLOROBIFENILO (sedimento) OTROS HOMÓLOGOS DE TRICLOROBIFENILOS (sedimento)
2,2',3,4,4',5,5'-HEPTACLOROBIFENILO (sedimento) 2,2',3,4,4',5,6'-HEPTACLOROBIFENILO (sedimento)
3,4,4'-TRICLOROBIFENILO (hígado) OTROS HOMÓLOGOS DE TRICLOROBIFENILOS (hígado)
2,2',3,4,4',5,5'-HEPTACLOROBIFENILO (hígado) 2,2',3,4,4',5,6'-HEPTACLOROBIFENILO(hígado)
17

18. POPs Air Monitoring Program
• The POPs Air Monitoring Program is being implemented
under the Proname umbrella, which in turn:
– Fulfills the commitments established within the CEC
EM&A working group
– Supplies POP data for the Global Monitoring Plan
(GMP) under the Stockholm Convention
– Includes five sites:
• Two form part of the Global Atmospheric Passive
Sampling Network (GAPS).
18

19. GAPS – Global Context
Global Atmospheric Passive Sampling Network
2010 sampling sites
Modified: October 15, 2010
• ~55 sites since 2005
• Monitoring (reporting to GMP)
• Surveillance (new priority chemicals)
GAPS Network:
www.ec.gc.ca/rs-mn/default.asp?lang=En&n=22D58893-1
19

20. Proname Sites
20

21. POPs Monitoring Sites in Mexico
• PRONAME/GAPS sites include the first 12 Stockholm
Convention POP plus some of the 10 new POP:
– Ría Celestún, Yucatán, beginning April 2009 (background
site)
– Valle del Yaqui, Sonora, beginning April 2009 (farm site)
• PRONAME sites measuring organochlorine pesticides and
PCBs:
– Manantlán, Jalisco, beginning July 2010 (background
site)
– Valle de Bravo, Mexico State, beginning April 2011
(transitional pilot site)
– Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, beginning April 2011 (industrial
site)
21

22. Proname Microsite
22

23. PRONAME
23

24. PART 3
Next Steps for EM&A

25. Next Steps
Contribute to advancing sound management of
chemicals:
- Support Proname at two new sites
- Continue support of research needs on specific
chemicals, such as mercury deposition and dioxin
monitoring
- Continue support to Mexico as it develops its
biomonitoring programs
- Generate a report on SMOC contributions to
SAICM for ICCM3
25

26. Challenges
• Consolidate a network of analytical laboratories
in Mexico
• Consolidate chemical specific monitoring into
overall Proname
• Share methodologies to identify communities
and ecosystems at risk
• Interpretation and evaluation of data, including
data comparison at a regional level and how
best use the current data available
• Increase transparency by sharing results with
stakeholders
26

27. For additional information
• CEC website:
http://www.cec.org/Page.asp?PageID=924&SiteN
odeID=1019
• Proname website:
27

28. Thank you
EM&A Co-chairs:
• Canada: Nicole Davidson (Nicole.Davidson@ec.gc.ca)
• Mexico: Ana Patricia Martínez (abolivar@ine.gob.mx)
• US: Ana Corado (corado.ana@epa.gov)
28