During the 59th medical days in Le Havre, around a hundred Le Havre doctors discussed the links between health and the environment and drew up the findings made in the practices.
Par Murielle Bouchard Published on
They are the first to see the consequences of pollution linked to human activity on health : the doctors. A hundred of Havre (Seine-Maritime) met at the end of January in order to make a diagnosis of the current situation and also discuss solutions to address the health issues posed by environmental impacts as part of their practice.
The number of cancers linked to pollution is increasing
Philippe Delebarre, cardiologist who still practices at Havre explains: “We are sorely lacking in local figures. The ARS has some, but the doctor in his office is often alone and with his head in the wheel. The evolution over time is obvious for doctors who have been established for more than 30 years: pathologies linked to pollution are increasing in Le Havre. We cannot say that they are increasing more than elsewhere given the lack of epidemiological studies on the subject at the local level, but during these days, the doctors were unanimous on this observation.
Bronchopulmonary diseases, allergies, but also cancers, infertility and obesity are on the rise. Pollution (endocrine disruptors and air pollution by microparticles) has catastrophic consequences that every doctor can observe in their practice
Excess mortality from certain cancers in Seine-Maritime
In Seine-Maritime, according to Philippe Delebarre, “we have excess mortality compared to the national level for breast, colon and rectal cancers in women and prostate cancer in men. Many studies show that these cancers are linked to pollution.”
“Bike, vegetable garden, isolated house”
Jean-Luc Saladin, only slightly ironic, “in fact, we know the solutions, they are extremely simple: bicycle, vegetable garden and isolated house”.
If we put into production all the cultivable areas of Le Havre, we would feed ourselves all year round
And to support his point, “there are four areas whose impact must be divided by four if we want to act effectively on greenhouse gas emissions:
- Travel by favoring public transport and cycling.
- Diet by banning processed foods and plastic packaging.
- Housing by insulating better and choosing ecological heating methods.
- Production by greening the “energy” offer.
“Very simple solutions, but far from being acceptable and accepted by all,” conclude the two doctors.
Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to My News.
