CONCERN GROWING ABOUT IMPACT OF ELECTRICAL UTILITIES ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Concern is growing in Mexico about the impact of electrical utilities on the environment, ranging from production and disposal of hazardous wastes to the potential for a leak at Laguna Verde, the country\u27s only nuclear-power plant. Among those raising questions of environmental safety related to power plants is the Montreal-based Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), an agency created under the auspices of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In a report published in early July, the CEC said thermoelectric plants in Mexico, the US, and Canada discharged 450,000 tons of contaminants into water, land, and air. The report said power plants are responsible for a large share of air emissions of dangerous substances like nitrogen oxides, mercury, sulfur dioxides, and carbon dioxides. The CEC report warned the problem is going to worsen because demand for electricity is expected to grow significantly in all three countries during the next seven years. The agency projected increases in the demand for power of 66% in Mexico, 21% in the US, and 14% in Canada between 2002 and 2009. The report recommended that the NAFTA countries create a special fund to promote the adoption of better technologies to control contamination and to promote increased energy efficiency