Evaluación regional del impacto antropogénico sobre aire, agua y suelo. Caso: Huasteca Hidalguense, México.

The state of Hidalgo, Mexico presents an important environmental problem that manifests itself in different ways. To identify the sources, types and the magnitude of pollutants, an inventory of sources of industrial and domestic pollution for air, water and soil in ten municipalities of the Huasteca Region of the state was carried out using the technique of Rapid Assessment of Sources of Environmental Pollution and the results are reported in this paper. A total of combined pollutants emitted was 116 978.95 tons/year. Gasoline vehicles contributed 11 039 tons/year of air pollutants and diesel vehicles 1521 tons/year. For water, industrial sources contributed 22 496 tons/year and domestic effluents 15 776 tons/year. Soil pollution was a result of industrial solid waste, 4025 tons/year, and municipal solid waste, 62 121 tons/year. By municipality, Huejutla de Reyes is the most polluted in air, water and soil, with 53 % of the regional total. These results were evaluated in relation to environmental quality of each medium based on the Mexican regulations; these levels are above permissible limits for water and soil. A database with relevant information was prepared as a support for efficient management of pollutant emissions, provide base mark data for complementary studies, and to promote the future conservation of environmental quality and the biological richness of the area.