Pollutants in aquifers may threaten future Of Mexico’s fast-growing ‘Riviera Maya’

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 08, 2011 – Pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, shampoo, toothpaste, pesticides, chemical run-off from highways and many other pollutants infiltrate the giant aquifer under Mexico’s “Riviera Maya,” research shows.

The wastes contaminate a vast labyrinth of water-filled caves under the popular tourist destination on the Yucatan Peninsula. The polluted water flows through the caves and into the Caribbean Sea. Land-sourced pollution may have contributed, along with overfishing, coral diseases, and climate change, to the loss since 1990 of up to 50% of corals on the reefs off the region’s coast. And, with a 10-fold increase in population through 2030 expected, the problems are likely to worsen, according to research published in the journal Environmental Pollution. “These findings clearly underline the need for monitoring systems to pin-point where these aquifer pollutants are coming from,” says Trent University Prof. Chris D. Metcalfe, Senior Research Fellow of the United Nations University’s Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). “As well, prevention and mitigation measures are needed to ensure that expanding development does not damage the marine environment and human health and, in turn, the region’s tourism-based economy.” … The researchers concluded that illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals and personal care products found in the groundwater at four of the five locations originated from domestic sewage. The illicit drugs identified were cocaine and its major post-digestion “metabolite” chemical, benzoylecgonine. Also found were caffeine and a metabolite of nicotine and the ingredients of personal care products such as: Triclosan (an anti-bacterial agent used mainly in toothpaste, cleansers, and hand sanitizers); Synthetic musks (used in perfumes, deodorants, etc.); Non-prescription painkillers acetaminophen and ibuprofen. The researchers point to pit latrines, septic tanks and leaking sewer lines as the pollution’s likeliest points of origin, noting that just one-third of the state is served by municipal wastewater treatment systems. Samples drawn near a golf course on a seaside resort, pointed to pesticide applications as another contamination source.  … While the levels of pollution found are not considered a health threat today, “the data provided in this study raise some concerns about the potential for human exposure from the consumption of contaminated drinking water.”  … They warn too that a combination of sea-level rise and over-extraction of freshwater contributes to saltwater intrusion into the aquifers, posing a threat to the region’s freshwater quality and availability. …

Pollutants In Aquifers May Threaten Future Of Mexico’s Fast-Growing ‘Riviera Maya’