Immediate health impact: What monitoring measures have been put in place?

Everything you need to know about the monitoring system that has been put in place, its data sources, and its key findings

More information on the Post-Fire Health Program 76

Everything you need to know about the industrial fire on September 26, 2019, in Rouen and the response by Santé publique France

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A specific epidemiological surveillance effort was launched that same day and continued for one month by the Normandy Regional Unit of Santé Publique France, based in Rouen.

It relied primarily on data regarding visits to emergency departments in hospitals in Normandy and Hauts-de-France, as well as data from SOS Médecins Rouen, provided by the SurSaUD® information system (Health Surveillance of Emergencies and Deaths).

Other data sources supplemented the surveillance:

  • reports of symptoms associated with odor perceptions submitted via the Odo app (Odor Reporting Tool) and on the website set up by Atmo Normandy and Atmo Hauts-de-France;

  • telephone calls received by the Poison Control Centers (CAP) in Lille and Angers and by the Rouen emergency medical service (Samu);

  • information collected from private practice physicians, particularly as part of a survey conducted by the Normandy Regional Union of Private Practitioners (URML) among private practitioners in Seine-Maritime.

Data from the SurSaUD® information system:

  • 18 emergency room visits for “smoke and gas poisoning” between September 26, 2019, and October 20, 2019;

  • an increase in the number of consultations for respiratory problems (asthma attacks, coughing, and shortness of breath) between September 26, 2019, and October 3, 2019, particularly among adults, with a return to normal levels starting October 4, 2019;

  • an increase in the number of consultations for dizziness, headaches, and migraines on September 30, 2019, among adults, with a return to normal levels on October 2, 2019;

  • an increase in the number of emergency room visits for anxiety disorders on October 20, 2019, and October 26, 2019 (for which a link to the fire has not been established);

  • 42 cases recorded by the SOS Médecins Rouen association as being directly related to the fire at the Lubrizol and NL Logistique sites between September 26, 2019, and October 6, 2019 (primarily for asthma attacks, coughing, nausea and vomiting, headaches, and dizziness); 1 case of headache was recorded on 10/10/19, followed by 2 others on 10/14/19 for stomach upset and vomiting.

"Epidemiological updates" on the industrial accident in Rouen

Starting the following day, September 27, 2019, Santé publique France issued epidemiological updates presenting the latest health data collected in the immediate aftermath of the accident.

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Overall, epidemiological surveillance conducted in the month following the accident revealed a minor impact on the activity of hospital emergency departments and SOS Médecins Rouen. The health issues and symptoms identified by the various sources that could be analyzed were primarily respiratory (breathing difficulties, coughing, and asthma attacks), ENT and ophthalmological (irritation of the tongue, throat, and eyes), digestive (nausea, vomiting), psychological (anxiety, sleep disturbances, stress, and distress), as well as headaches and dizziness.