Asthma Visits to Emergency Rooms and Soybean Unloading in the Harbors of Valencia and A Coruna, Spain

Soybean unloading in the harbor of Barcelona, Spain, has been associated with large increases in the numbers of asthma patients treated in emergency departments between 1981 and 1987. in this study, the association between asthma and soybean unloading in two other Spanish cities, Valencia and A Coruna, was assessed, Asthma admissions were retrospectively identified for the period 1993-1995, and harbor activities were investigated in each location. Two approaches were used to assess the association between asthma and soybean unloading: One used unusual asthma days (days with an unusually high number of emergency room asthma visits) as an effect measure, and the other estimated the relative i…