"‘You can’t even wash your hands’: is a global industrial hub responsible for the destruction of Mexico’s Atoyac River?", 31 October 2024

...On the outskirts of Puebla in central Mexico sits an area on the Atoyac River known as Nueva Alemania, or “New Germany”...

New Germany is part of a broader region, an industrial district covering about 4,000 square kilometres that has been a hub for Mexican and global multinationals – notably German conglomerates – since the 1960s...

Running through the area is the Atoyac River. But it is not a river that the community is proud of...

Now, the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has promised to clean up the Atoyac...But to meet her commitment, Sheinbaum, a former climate scientist, will have to confront multinational companies accused by campaigners of harming the river...

The report noted: “The scientific evidence presented in this first report demonstrates that these high [mortality] rates are caused by exposure to toxins and polluting processes from industries located in the region. The automotive, electrical, chemical and textile industries have the highest pollutant emissions”...

BASF says it operates its Puebla site “in full compliance with local and federal laws and upholds a strong commitment to environmental stewardship across all its locations”. The company highlights that since its establishment, the Puebla facility has operated a wastewater treatment plant 24 hours a day as part of its commitment to safe production for people and the environment, and has held the Clean Industry Certificate, issued by Profepa, since 2015...

Volkswagen’s car assembly plants, also sitting next to the Atoyac, have extracted 1.5m cubic meters of water annually since May 1996, the exact volume of annual residual discharges the company reports to have made since 2004. In response to inquiries about the wastewater in the Atoyac, the company says it complies with “all the measurements required by applicable Mexican regulations”.

Bayer says its production plant in Tlaxcala is dedicated to biofungicides, “with no chemical products produced on-site”. The company says it has undergone inspections by the Mexican authorities, including Conagua and Profepa, and has not received any sanctions. The Tlaxcala’s facility, says the organisation, does not discharge wastewater directly into the Atoyac River, but “pre-treated wastewater” in accordance with the state water and sanitation commission of Tlaxcala, which is responsible for its final discharge...

Thyssenkrupp says it is “not aware of any complaints regarding the health of the local population, nor have any inspections been carried out by the Federal Environmental Prosecutor’s Office”. The company adds that wastewater “is treated in water treatment plants and monitored by the relevant authorities to ensure compliance with officially established limits” and reiterates that it follows “company-wide standards”, such as the german supply chain due diligence act and the principles of compliance with human rights and environmental due diligence...

The German conglomerates in the Atoyac will fall within the scope of the EU regulation from 2027 onwards, when they will be obliged to integrate due diligence into their business policies to comply with the directive...