Marked Trajectories: Family health narratives produced by anthropogenic pollution in the Quintero-Puchuncaví sacrifice zone, Chile

Abstract

The Quintero-Puchuncaví Bay in Chile, has been affected by multiple episodes of anthropogenic contamination caused by companies in the Ventanas Industrial Corridor, making it one of the sacrifice zones in the country. On August 21, 2018, a mass poisoning of children and adolescents occurred, highlighting the dangers of contamination on the population's health at a national level. This qualitative narrative study explores this issue through the health trajectories of five families residing in the area. Information was gathered through family interviews, using art therapy strategies. A thematic narrative analysis of the data was conducted.The results reveal the presence of a range of illnesses spanning at least three generations of the interviewees' families. However, the long-term effects of contamination had not been fully acknowledged until the August 2018 incident, which made them aware of the generational transmission of normalizing this type of poisoning in their life paths. Additionally, the participants identify legal issues in controlling and reducing toxic emissions in the area.

Keywords

• salud
• desastres
• contaminación antropogénica
• zonas de sacrificio
• territorio
• chile