tampico conurbation: risks of the railway & the right of access to information

Abstract

The railway, which has historically been an element that has contributed to the spatial integration of the territory by approaching cities, also represents a constant risk when crossing densely populated areas with products whose transport implies a high risk due to its toxicity. The municipalities of Tampico, Madero and Altamira, are three cities separated by streets, which have benefited from the routes built for the transport of raw materials, necessary for their transformation, but at the same time, part of a constant risk, derived from the construction of houses and other buildings which, by not respecting the distance between them and the roads, are integrated into a context subject to risk. Within the dangers, which we are referring to, there can be, on the one hand, derailment, leaks and reach caused during the transport of products whose danger cannot be overlooked by authorities who have shown complacency in allowing the construction of businesses and homes near roads.  On the other hand, the risk could derived from the passage of products considered highly dangerous as chlorine, ammonia, arsenic, calcium cyanide, hydrofluoric acid, propane, hexane and sulfuric acid among others, affecting health through effects linked to burns, pulmonary edema, cancer, respiratory tract infection, depression of the nervous system, respiratory failure, dermatitis, among other undesirable effects(CENAPRED 2012, Proagro 2012 and New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, 2012).