On December 12, 1999, the oil tanker Erika, carrying 28,000 tons of Category 2 heavy fuel oil, sank 55 km south of the Pointe de Penmarc'h and 80 km west of Belle-Ile... As the pollution arrived, cleanup operations were set up at the affected sites, at the instigation of local authorities under the auspices of the POLMAR plan. The short-term health effects of exposure to fuel oil compounds include: general disorders of the nervous system; respiratory, digestive, and cutaneous-mucosal disorders caused by aromatic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. At the request of the DGS dated January 19, 2000, an epidemiological investigation was conducted with the following objectives: - to describe the short-term health effects experienced by volunteers and professionals who responded at sites polluted by the oil spill; - identify exposure scenarios contributing to the onset of health problems; - provide data to evaluate prevention guidelines in order to adapt them if necessary; - establish recommendations, if applicable, to prevent the occurrence of such health effects in similar situations. (R.A.)