Residents of the chemical and gas industrial basin of Lacq (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), which have been the subject of epidemiological studies since 2016, are not exposed to an overall excess mortality, Public Health France said in a press release on Monday.
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The results of the mortality study carried out by the health agency, which is based on two analytical methods, “
did not show an excess risk of death for all the causes of death, l “all cancer deaths, respiratory cancer deaths, lymphoid tissue cancer deaths and digestive cancer deaths in the closest areas of residence
”, compared to the population of Aquitaine, details the press release.
Former gas site converted into chemicals
Public health specifies, however, that "
questions persist with regard to respiratory and circulatory pathologies
" because "
considering the risk of death by specific cause, excesses (are) observed mainly for non-cancerous respiratory and circulatory pathologies
", without being "
Correlated with the distance between the place of residence and the Lacq industrial basin
".
According to the health agency, the next studies planned locally, a "
morbidity study
" whose protocol is being finalized and a "
participatory health survey
" to be launched this week, may provide a better understanding of these latest results. , in particular by taking into account individual data linked to certain pathologies (hereditary, behavioral, occupational, mobility, lifestyle factors, etc.).
Public Health France began its studies on the Lacq basin in 2016 following requests from residents and local elected officials as well as a report from the Court of Auditors. Some 20,000 people, 8,000 of whom have direct jobs locally, live near the Lacq industrial basin, which until the 1990s relied on the exploitation of natural gas but then converted to chemicals. In July and September 2018, the plant of the pharmaceutical group Sanofi in Mourenx had to stop production after non-compliant releases of sodium valproate. This product is the basis for the antiepileptic Depakine which has been at the heart of a health scandal because of birth defects and neurodevelopmental disorders caused in thousands of people.children of women who have taken this treatment during pregnancy since the late 1960s.
