Sick Neighborhood Syndrome: Population with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Adjacent to Bioethanol Distillery

Abstract

The population of a neighborhood in the city of Córdoba presents general irritant symptoms since a bioethanol distillery began to operate there, from which formaldehyde, toluene, xylene mainly emanate. At the request of the community, collective environmental health was evaluated with a cross-sectional study of prevalence of these conditions. 53% of the residents reported respiratory disorders, conjunctivitis 31%, headaches 27%, dermatitis 23% and dyspepsia 22%. 57% of children aged 6 - 7 use bronchodilators (an indicator of asthma). 66% of the population has one of these conditions, 46% has two and 26% has three; children are the most affected. The results coincide with the Consensus on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome in that it is reproducible by repeated chemical exposure, is chronic and does not improve without eliminating exposure, affecting multiple organs and systems. 14.8% of newborns feature malformations, while in the rest of the city, only 1.7% did. Similar to the Sick Building Syndrome, the collective health picture found suggests a “Sick Neighborhood Syndrome”.