By Enrique Medina, MS, CIH

We start the last quarter of 2003 with a listing of selected final and proposed regulations, standards and major directives published during the first nine months by a number of federal agencies in the Mexican Official Journal of the Federation. The Agency acronyms are: SEMARNAT (Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources); STPS (Secretariat of Labor and Social Security); SCT (Secretariat of Communications and Transportation); SS (Secretariat of Health). In the coming months we will review some of these regulations.
 

AGENCY	ITEM	PUBLICATION DATE
SEMARNAT	Internal Regulations of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources	1/21/2003
SEMARNAT	Agreement by which the administrative units and decentralized bodies of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources are organized	1/27/2003
SEMARNAT-SSA	Official Mexican Standard PROY-NOM-087-ECOL-SSA1-2000, , Environmental Protection-Environmental Health-Biological-infectious hazardous waste-Classification and management specifications	2/17/2003
SEMARNAT	Notice of extension of NOM-EM-138-ECOL-2002, which establishes the maximum permissible limits of contamination in hydrocarbon-affected soil, published on August 20, 2002.	2/20/2003
SEMARNAT	Decree, which issues the General Law of Sustainable Forest Development, and reforms and adds to the General Law of Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection, the Organic Law of Federal Public Administration, and the Law of Prizes, Incentives, and Civil Rewards.	2/25/2003
SEMARNAT	Agreement, which establishes the period for presentation of the Annual Operating Certificate for 2003.	2/27/2003
SEMARNAT	Modification of Official Mexican Standard NOM-133-ECOL-2000, Environmental Protection, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)-Management specifications, published on December 10, 2001.	3/5/2003
SEMARNAT	Agreement which reforms the nomenclature of official Mexican standards issued by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and the ratification of same, prior to their five-year review.	4/23/2003
SEMARNAT	Official Mexican Standard NOM-137-SEMARNAT-2003, Air Pollution-Sour gas and condensate defulfuring plants.-Control of emissions of sulfur compounds.	5/30/2003
SEMARNAT	Proposed Official Mexican Standard PROY-NOM-098-ECOL-2002, Environmental Protection - Waste incineration, specifications of operation, and pollutant emission limits.	6/27/2003
SEMARNAT	Notice to inform parties responsible for fixed sources of air emissions under federal jurisdiction, that they should continue presenting the format for the Annual Operating Certificate under the terms established in the Agreement, which reforms and adds various dispositions, published on April 9, 1998, until publication of the agreement which will establish the format for updating the pollutant release and transfer registry, within the period between July 1 and October 31, 2003.	6/30/2003
SEMARNAT	Regulation of the General Law of Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection in the matter of Ecological Planning	8/8/2003
SEMARNAT	Organizational Manual for the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources	8/13/2003
SEMARNAT	Official Mexican Standard NOM-004-SEMARNAT-2002, Environmental Protection-Sludge and biosolids.-Specifications and maximum permissible limits of contaminants for their use and final disposal.	8/15/2003
SEMARNAT	Notice to the general public on the temporary suspension of the environmental part of Official Mexican Standard NOM-021-ENER/SCFI/ECOL-2000.	8/26/2003
SEMARNAT	Proposed Official Mexican Standard PROY-NOM-141-SEMARNAT-2003, which establishes the requirements for site characterization, design, construction, operation, and post-operation of leachate impoundments.	9/17/2003
STPS	Proposed modification of Official Mexican Standard NOM-121-STPS-1996, Safety and health for work in mines, to become PROY-NOM-023-STPS-2002, Work in mines-Conditions of safety and health in the workplace.	2/19/2003
STPS	Summons for the accreditation and approval of verification units in conformity with the official Mexican standards in matters of safety, health and workplace environment	2/21/2003
STPS	Internal Regulations of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security	8/18/2003
STPS	Proposed Official Mexican Standard PROY-NOM-028-STPS-2002, Work organization-Safety in the processing of chemical substances	8/20/2003
STPS	Decree, which reforms and adds to the General Health Law	5/15/2003
SSA	Proposed Official Mexican Standard PROY-NOM-230-SSA1-2002, Environmental health. Water for human use and consumption. Sanitary requirements, which must be met by public and private supply systems during handling of water. Sanitary sampling procedures.	8/1/2003
SSA	Proposed Official Mexican Standard PROY-NOM-231-SSA1-2002, Glazed pottery, glazed ceramic, and porcelain articles. Limits on soluble lead and cadmium. Assay method.	8/1/2003
SSA	Proposed modification of Official Mexican Standard NOM-004-SSA1-1993, Environmental health. Limitations and sanitary requirements for the use and commercialization of lead monoxide (litargirio), red lead oxide (minio) and basic lead carbonate (albayalde).	8/1/2003

If you have questions about how this article or other health, safety or environmental issues, please contact us at (619) 297-1469 or send us an email at subscribers@mexregs.com. For articles in previous issues visit our web site at www.mexregs.com.
MR

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