Northern Mérida citizens will suffer the effects of the Progreso cement plants

Progreso, Yucatán, (November 03, 2021) .- “In the short term, the inhabitants of the North of Mérida will suffer the effects of the microparticles emanating from the cement plant installed in the Progreso Industrial Park, generating pulmonary complications and chronic diseases in children and the elderly,” warned the general secretary of the Maya Peninsular Association, Raúl Quiroz Moo.

The problem will worsen during the winter season, as the north wind and cold fronts will transport the pollutants to Mérida, affecting the inhabitants of the colonies and subdivisions in the north of the city.

The situation will worsen with the arrival of the Cruz Azul cement company, while the Southeast Company Comercio para el Desarrollo Mexicano (CDM) has already been authorized by the Environmental Impact Manifesto (MIA) for the construction of its cement grinding plant, both to settle in the Progreso Industrial Park.

“If serious problems are expected in the population of Progreso and Mérida with one cement plant, with three the situation will be worse,” he remarked.

Quiroz Moo highlighted the warnings of specialists regarding the damage of the microparticles generated by cement plants, limescale, and material banks, which contribute to the development of chronic and pulmonary diseases, and even the appearance of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, depression, autism, and anxiety.

A recent study showed that environmental pollution is a determining factor for neurodegenerative diseases, an anomaly that increased with lime and cement plants.

Among the specialists who are against these companies of the construction industry are the president of the College of Chemical Engineers of Yucatán (CIQY), Alan García Lira; the director of the Center for Research in Environmental Geography of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), José Antonio Vieyra Medrano; the president of the Yucatecan Society of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering (Syisaac), Abar Wilde Yerves Maldonado.

Similarly, the president of the Mexican Academy of Environmental Impact (Amia), Daniel Basurto González and the specialists of the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (Cinvestav), Andrea de Vizcaya Ruiz and María de los Ángeles Andrade Oliva.