Resumo

CABANAS VARGAS, Dulce Diana et al. Inventory of potencial generation sources of hazardous wastes in Yucatán State, Mexico. Rev. Int. Contam. Ambient [online]. 2010, vol.26, n.4, pp.269-277. ISSN 0188-4999.

Hazardous waste (HW) handling and disposal is one of the most important environmental challenges. Today few companies in Mexico declare to be HW generators; so far it has not been possible the quantification of all the HW generated in the country. A first step to know the kind and quantity of HW generated is conducting an inventory of potential generation sources. The present study was conducted in 106 municipalities of the State of Yucatan. 3945 potential HW sources were located using GPS. The municipality with the highest concentration of potential sources was Mérida, with 47.7 %. 73.4 % of all potential sources were located in the eleven most populated municipalities of the State. Potential sources of HW were classified according to their industrial activity and the yearly generation of HW. Most were related to the automotive industry (34.2 %); 89 % of the total potential sources of HW are microgenerators.

Palavras-chave : hazardous wastes; inventory; generation; emissions.