Analyzing Health and Epigenetic Influences of Refineria Esmeraldas in Esmeraldas, Ecuador

Undergraduate: Kathia Toledo

Faculty Advisor: Gabriela Valdivia
Department: Environmental Studies

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Refineri¿¿a Esmeraldas greatly influences the well-being of Esmeraldas residents. Analyzing the extent of the refinery¿¿¿s influence on the local communities is important as it provides insight into the environmental suffering occurring in the city. In previous research, I found that residents of the city perceive that the impacts of the refinery are not always direct, but rather affect various aspects of their lives like health and household economies. A theme that emerged in this study was (Dis)Able Bodies, which depicts how oil refining negatively affects the bodies of people. Under the framework of political ecology, I seek to explain how biological, physical, and political environments affect the production of able and disable bodies. Health is important to residents of the city as it allows for greater economic productivity. In this research, I depict how health is affected in this space and across temporal scales, such as how epigenetics appear to be affecting the health of residents beyond one generation. I also compare the nature of environmental suffering taking place in Esmeraldas to other regions participating in any facet of extractive industries. This study has important implications for understanding the oil-driven world we have become comfortable with. It also indicates a need to restructure energy generation so that it does not continue to yield inequalities of such magnitude.