Nearly 300 toxic waste sites have been identified across Mexico, most of them premises abandoned by industrial operations, officials said on Wednesday.

At least 297 toxic sites have been discovered so far, and there are probably many more such sites, said Mauricio Limon, undersecretary of Mexico's Environment and Natural Resources Ministry (Semarnat).

An initial study of 184 sites found a total of 553,000 cubic meters of dangerous substances, which are capable of filling half of the country's biggest Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, local daily Reforma quoted Limon as saying.

According to the National Ecology Institute, 36 percent of the toxic waste dumps were found to have hazardous metals like zinc, lead, mercury and chromium.

Moreover, 17 percent of the pollutants are infectious biological residues, Limon said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2008)