Greenpeace: Mexico's Analog Blackout Carries Environmental, Health Risks Mariel Huerta - Agencia EFE
go to original December 28, 2015

An analog blackout that is to be largely completed on Dec. 31 will make Mexico the first Latin American country with entirely digital television broadcasting, although the switch-out entails potentially serious environmental risks.

The disposal of at least 40 million analog television sets nationwide "implies great risks for the environment and human health," Greenpeace Mexico said.

Those devices contain "toxic substances" such as lead, cadmium and arsenic that produce chemical reactions "that could contaminate the water table, the subsoil" and even water for daily use, Edith Martinez, that organization's communications coordinator, told EFE.

People who breathe in these types of substances can develop different kinds of cancers or osteoporosis, the environmental watchdog said.

Greenpeace Mexico is currently working on the eZombies campaign, which is aimed at collecting signatures for a petition demanding the government develop a "comprehensive plan for the final disposal of electronic waste" resulting from the analog blackout.

At least 2.5 million television sets are expected to be discarded just in Mexico City, which joined the blackout last week along with some central Mexican states.

Read the rest at Fox News Latino

Photo: BBC News

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