The air of the “Chilean Chernobyl” causes new intoxication in students

More than a hundred students were poisoned this Tuesday due to poor air quality in the town of Quinteroproduced by the industrial hub of the area, nicknamed the “Chilean Chernobyl”.

“It was decided to suspend classes (in Quintero) for the various cases of poisoning that affected more than six educational establishments”, reported Romina MaraganoRegional Secretary of Education of Valparaiso110 kilometers from the capital Santiago.

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The students were treated at the local hospital centers and presented symptoms such as “headache, dizziness and stomach problems”, recounted the Municipality of Quintero to the AFP.

A woman stands behind a banner that reads “Remember to breathe a little, Zone No + Sacrifice” in Quintero, Valparaíso region, Chile, June 9, 2022. (Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP) (MARTIN BERNETTI /)

Located on the central coast, Quintero, and also the city of puchuncaví are considered “environmental sacrifice zones” since in 1958 the Chilean government decided to relegate artisanal fishing and agriculture to turn the area into an industrial pole that houses coal-fired thermoelectric plants and crude oil and copper refineries.

This is not the first case of poisoning that the “Chilean Chernobyl”. In June 2022, another hundred people, mostly schoolchildren, were affected by the same problem.

The government of the leftist president gabriel boric decided to close the plant Foundry Windowspointed out as one of the main causes of contamination.

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The environmental organization greenpeace He described the area asthe Chilean Chernobyl” after that in 2018 some 600 people went to medical centers with an atypical clinical picture of vomiting blood, headaches, dizziness, paralysis of the extremities, as well as strange skin rashes that appeared particularly in children.

According to a special rapporteur of the UN who visited the country in May of this year, Chile faces “frightening and interconnected environmental crises” who are violating the rights of millions of people, especially in this industrial hub.

Source: Elcomercio