The Chilean port of

Quintero Quintero is a Chilean city and commune in Valparaíso Province, in the Valparaíso Region, 30 kilometers north of Valparaíso. The commune spans an area of . It was the first port in the country, created during the expedition of Diego de Almagr ...

and adjacent

Puchuncaví Puchuncaví is a town and commune in the Valparaíso Province of central Chile's fifth region of Valparaíso. It spans a coastal area of . History The history of Puchuncaví and its surroundings goes back over 500 years, being one of the oldest ...

have made themselves known for their pollution in the 2010s and 2020s. They have together been characterized as a

sacrifice zone A sacrifice zone or sacrifice area (often termed a national sacrifice zone or national sacrifice area) is a geographic area that has been permanently impaired by heavy environmental alterations or economic disinvestment, often through locally unwant ...

. The zone hosts the coal-fired

Ventanas Power Plant Ventanas Power Plant is a coal-fired electrical generating station in Quintero, Valparaíso Region, Chile. The plant produces 875 MW of electricity, and is the largest power plant in Chile.The unloading dock extends directly into the Pacific and ca ...

, an

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

, a cement storage,

Fundición Ventanas Fundición Ventanas is a copper smelter plant in Quintero, Valparaíso Region, Chile. It is owned by Codelco. The plant produces a significant amount of sulfuric acid. Its emissions of sulfur dioxide, an atmospheric contaminant, is within the limit ...

, a copper foundry and refinery, a

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

factory and a chemical terminal. In total 15 polluting companies operate in the area. In 1992 there was a judicial appeal filed by five women from Puchuncavi against Fundición Ventanas and Chilgener, this was filed against the refinery for the

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

clouds it emitted. In areas near the polluting industries, testing in 1997 showed high levels

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

in the soil. High level of

selenium Selenium is a chemical element with the symbol Se and atomic number 34. It is a nonmetal (more rarely considered a metalloid) with properties that are intermediate between the elements above and below in the periodic table, sulfur and tellurium, ...

and copper were also found in rainwater near the industries. In 2011, Escuela La Greda located in Puchuncaví, was engulfed in a chemical cloud from the Ventanas Industrial Complex. The sulfur cloud poisoned an estimated 33 children and 9 teachers, resulting in the relocation of the school. The old location of the school is now abandoned. In August and September 2018 there was a public health crisis in Quintero and Puchuncaví, where over 300 people experienced illness from toxic substances in the air, coming from the polluting industries. In 2022 the environmental conditions of Quintero, Puchuncaví and

Concón Concón is a Chilean city and commune in Valparaíso Province, Valparaíso Region. It is a major tourist center known for its beaches, ''balnearios'' (beachside resorts) and night life. Geography The commune of Concón spans an area of . It is ...

were discussed in the

Senate of Chile The Senate of the Republic of Chile is the upper house of Chile's Bicameralism, bicameral National Congress of Chile, National Congress, as established in the current Constitution of Chile. Composition According to the present Constitution of ...

. In June 2022 President

Gabriel Boric Gabriel Boric Font (; born 11 February 1986) is a Chilean left-wing politician who is the 37th and current president of Chile, serving since 11 March 2022. Boric studied in the Faculty of Law at the University of Chile, and was the president of ...

announced

Codelco Codelco (''Corporación Nacional'' ''del'' ''Cobre de Chile'' or, in English, the National Copper Corporation of Chile) is a Chilean state-owned copper mining company. It was formed in 1976 from foreign-owned copper companies that were nationali ...

's decision to beggin a closure process of

References

Pollution in Chile Valparaíso Region {{Chile-stub