The State - News from Jan. 31, 1986

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 that the material was destined to be used in a valid recycling operation in Mexico. Darrel Duisen, chief executive officer of U.S. Technology and Disposal Services, asserted that the material “was not just dumped on a roadside,” as Mexican officials have alleged, but was placed at a site that had been studied by various “well-regarded, respected” engineering firms. Mexican investigators say they have seen no evidence that the site was at all prepared for a waste recycling plant or any disposal of toxic substances. In fact, there is no facility licensed to recycle toxic wastes in the entire state of Baja California, said Cesar Velarde, a spokesman for Mexico’s environmental agency.