Cancer Deaths Top 42 in Mexico's Endhó Dam Communities as Toxic Exposure Alarms Residents
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 17
Cancer Deaths Top 42 in Mexico's Endhó Dam Communities as Toxic Exposure Alarms Residents
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 17
Summary
At least 42 cancer deaths, 15 survivors and six active cases have been identified within a few blocks of General Pedro María Anaya near Mexico’s Endhó Dam, according to resident activist Yury Uribe.
More than 20 communities around the reservoir in Hidalgo state describe the illnesses as part of a decades-long environmental crisis tied to toxic conditions around the dam.
Uribe, 45, said house after house in her neighborhood had been touched by stomach, colon, throat and lung cancers, turning local grief into activism.
The area has become what residents call a sacrifice zone — a stark example of how long-running pollution near Mexico City can concentrate disease in nearby communities.