Despite a deterioration in the mental health of local residents, the Lubrizol fire did not increase their use of psychotropic drugs.
- The fire that occurred on September 26, 2019 on the sites of the Lubrizol and NL Logistique companies, located in the port area of Rouen, was the cause of numerous environmental nuisances.
- Public Health France publishes a new survey on the health impact of the Lubrizol fire.
- The new results revealed “do not show any difference in the evolution of delivery or initiation of treatment with psychotropic medications after September 26, 2019 between the area exposed to the fire and the non-exposed areas or according to the type of exposure declared”.
While the flames have just burned two buildings in Rouen, Public health France publishes a new investigation into the health impact of the Lubrizol fire.
Lubrizol: “consequences on the health of the different exposed populations”
The fire that occurred on September 26, 2019 on the sites of the Lubrizol and NL Logistique companies, located in the port area of Rouen, was the cause of numerous environmental nuisances (plume of black smoke, fallout of soot, dispersion of debris from roof, diffuse and odorous emissions of volatile organic compounds, flames and explosions). “These exposures may have had consequences on the health of the different exposed populations,” explains Santé Publique France, which therefore, following the disaster, decided to list and analyze them.
“The epidemiological surveillance of this specific area impacted by an industrial fire is unprecedented. For the first time, it relies significantly on the analysis of healthcare reimbursement data from the National Health Data System (SNDS)” , reports the health agency in a press release.
No difference in the evolution of psychotropic drug delivery after the Lubrizol fire
Concretely, the new results revealed “do not show any difference in the evolution of delivery or initiation of treatment with psychotropic medications after September 26, 2019 between the area exposed to the fire and the non-exposed areas or according to the type of exposure declared”, can also be read in the report.
However, a psychological questionnaire revealed, one year after the fire, an alteration in the mental health (post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety and depression) of the population living in the exposed area.
Lubrizol fire: new reports to come
New additional reports are to come, because Santé Publique France also monitors other health indicators of residents living near Lubrizol, such as the frequency of cardiovascular respiratory pathology and certain cancers, or even the progress of pregnancies.
