Revisión del impacto del sector ladrillero sobre el ambiente y la salud humana en México

Abstract

Objective. To describe the precarious conditions of the workers on the Mexican brick sector and their effects on health and possible intervention projects. Materials and methods. A review of databases and government sites (with English and Spanish language restrictions) was carried out to correlate the human health injury caused by the bricks factories' pollution. Exposure and health impact studies carried out in Mexico were analyzed. Keywords corresponding “precarious work”, “brick pollution”, “health effects” and “interventions” were used in the database search. Results. We found only a few studies that described environmental and biological effects caused by the brick sector in Mexico. Regarding intervention programs published until this year, our analysis indicates that these projects have the aim to reduce the environmental impacts but not ameliorate the health of the brick factories workers and their families. Conclusions. High levels of pollution were described in brick factories' areas. New studies are required to explore the effects of mixtures toxic substances over health workers, his families, and surrounding factories' population.