Superfund Research Program

Outreach to Mexico Core

Project Leader: Dean E. Carter
Grant Number: P42ES004940
Funding Period: 1995 - 2005

Project-Specific Links

Final Progress Reports

Year:   2004 

The unique Outreach efforts of this core to Mexico have proven to be very successful resulting recently in additional funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development and federal legislation towards the development of a US-Mexico Binational Center for Environmental Studies and Toxicology.  This Core focuses on common environmental problems along the US-Mexico Border. After years of studying these problems and a realization of the limited number of toxicologists, risk assessors, and remediation engineers in Mexico, the Outreach to Mexico core addressed the following:

1. The need for Spanish language toxicology teaching material.
2. The development of a Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Arizona and the key scientific agencies in Mexico (CINVESTAV, CONACYT).
3. Instructional programs for training Mexican graduate students and short-term exchanges of students/faculty who were awarded the USAID grant.
4. Coordination of the Core’s efforts with their elected officials (the federal legislation has been enacted). 

This core has laid the groundwork for educational and research interactions with their colleagues in Mexico. If this core can have an impact on the
environmental problems and the quality of life along the U.S.-Mexico Border, the importance of the University’s Superfund Basic Research Program will be remembered for many years.