The measure will be enforced in 30 schools with a capacity for 10,000 students in the municipalities of Quintero and Puchuncavi.

The educational centers also had to close their doors on Tuesday and Wednesday, after students and teachers showed symptoms such as fainting, nausea, headache and stomach aches.

Environmental authorities admitted that in the central area there is a clear condition of poor ventilation that generates concentration of pollutants such as benzene and toluene.

These have been short-lived increases and we cannot rule out that they are directly related to the situation that has affected children and educational communities,” Regional Environmental Secretary Hernan Ramirez stated. The poor air quality has forced the Disaster Risk Management Committee to decree a Preventive Early Alert in both communes.

The possibility of declaring a health emergency in the area is also being assessed, which will allow the total or partial closure of the industries that generate contaminating compounds.

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