Systemic exposures across heavily industrial zones

Abstract

What profound challenges have developing brains, individuals and sacrifice zones been forced to endure? And what are the unknown, possibly transgenerational consequences of these relentless struggles? To answer such questions, we must cross the boundaries of scientific disciplines⁴ and investigate communities that are manifestations of such complex environmental exposures, such as in Calama, in the Atacama Desert of Chile.

“Calama”, say its inhabitants, “is a neglected city”, even though it yields almost one-third of the world’s copper production⁵. The city is a ‘textbook’ sacrifice zone, a place shaped by over a century of mining activity and its satellite industries, all tied together under the banner of (inter)national development — Calama is often referred to as the “salary of Chile”.