MEXICO CITY (AP) — Eighty-eight schools in a northern Mexico state will not open Monday along with the rest of the country because of the danger of water contaminated by the spill of 10 million gallons (40,000 cubic meters) of acids from a copper mine into two rivers this month.
Sonora state civil protection director Carlos Arias said Sunday that the schools in the seven municipalities most affected by the Aug. 6 spill may be able to open in a week, once officials ensure safe drinking water for students.
Officials have distributed more than 1 million gallons (4 million liters) of drinking water over the past week using tanker trucks, reaching 80 percent to 90 percent of people in the area. Arias said they had not yet reached people who live in isolated communities.