Firm Denies Dumping Toxic Waste in Tecate : But Mexico Disputes Claim That Substances Shipped Over Border Were Bound for Recycling

Contradicting the statements of Mexican officials, the chief officer of a U.S. firm that helped arrange for the transport of toxic wastes from the United States to the Mexican border town of Tecate said Wednesday that the material was destined to be used in a valid recycling operation in Mexico.

Darrel Duisen, chief executive officer of U.S. Technology & Disposal Services Inc., denied that the material was “just dumped on a roadside,” as Mexican officials have alleged. He said it was placed at a site that had been studied by various “well-regarded, respected” engineering firms working in the field of toxic wastes. Duisen declined to name any of the firms.

Mexican investigators say they have seen no evidence that the site was in any way prepared for a waste-recycling plant or for disposal of toxic substances. In fact, there is no facility in Baja California that is licensed to recycle toxic wastes, according to Cesar Velarde, a spokesman for the Mexican Secretariat of Urban Development and Ecology, Mexico’s environmental agency.

No Sign of Facility

“We haven’t seen any sign of such a facility here,” said Ramon Quezada, a spokesman for Tecate Mayor Cesar Moreno.

The case has raised concern and spawned investigations on both sides of the border.

U.S. officials have expressed concern that it could represent a troubling trend of U.S. firms shipping toxic wastes south of the border to avoid stringent environmental regulations and high disposal costs in the United States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun a review of the whole issue of toxic wastes going to Mexico. The U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego and California health authorities also have begun inquiries into the case, officials said.

In Mexico, authorities this month closed the dump, canceled new shipments of waste, and ordered the Tijuana firm allegedly responsible for the dumping to return the material to the United States or move it to a safe dump in Mexico by Feb. 14. Mexican environmental officials have already imposed a fine of about $24,000 against the firm, Tratamientos Petroquimicos Mexicanos S.A. (Mexican Petrochemical Treatments).

U.S. Technology & Disposal Services, which is based in National City, was under contract with Tratamientos to do the paper work and otherwise act as a middleman in arranging for the transport of waste material to Mexico, Duisen said. He said the wastes originated with various “generators” in the United States but declined to elaborate. His firm followed all laws on both sides of the border, Duisen said.

Dozens of residents who live near the 10-acre dump site, which lies 15 miles east of downtown Tecate, have complained of various illnesses that they fear may be linked to the material. After examining residents and the area water supply, however, Mexican health officials have concluded that there is no link between the illnesses and the dump.

The dump is littered now with dozens of 55-gallon drums, pools of waste oils, sands, tar residues and numerous plastic bags filled with material that Mexican authorities have identified as asbestos and glass fibers. Mexican officials say samples are still being analyzed to determine their exact ingredients and potential toxicity.

Duisen, who declined to say what materials were shipped to the site, asserted that the recycling plant was still in the early stages of construction when Mexican officials suspended operations. “When you’re patching up a cake in the kitchen,” Duisen said at a news conference, “there are certainly stages when it doesn’t look quite right.”