‘Chilean Chernobyl’ sows panic in two towns

SANTIAGO: More than 100 people have sought medical treatment this week after suspected exposure to a pollutant in an area known as the “Chilean Chernobyl” for the environmental impact of heavy industry.

Local authorities declared an environmental emergency in the area, suspending classes and banning physical activity, after an air quality station reported a concentration of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the air five times the norm on Monday.

A total of 105 people — among them 50 children — have sought help in the towns of Quintero and Puchuncavi in the Valparaiso region, complaining of headaches, itchy eyes and throats, and nausea, the SMA environmental agency said late on Wednesday. The Quintero prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the incident.

Quintero and Puchuncavi, two coastal towns with some 50,000 inhabitants combined, have been deemed “sacrifice zones” since 1958, when the Chilean government converted what was a fishing and farming community into an industrial hub.