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Objective Analysing health conditions in the town of Carirubana in Falcón State, Venezuela, as a prior study to the construction of a gas conditioning plant there. Methods This study formed part of a field research project which involved consulting primary and secondary sources. The former consisted of evaluating public and private health-centres and those in the Barrio Adentro system; the aforementioned health centres' medical staff were interviewed to determine current health-disease status and the factors determining health for the town being studied. Likewise, both situations (health-disease and factors determining health) were evaluated and analysed in the secondary sources at national, state and municipal level. Results Deficits were observed at national level regarding public health infrastructure; there were 1.3 beds per thousand inhabitants, this being less than half that recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) (i.e. three to four beds per thousand inhabitants). State and municipal cancer mortality rates were relatively stable over a four-year period (2001-2004). Conclusions The mortality rate in Carirubana was characteristic of a low-income area. The poverty and pollution directly produced by the oil refining plants were the key determinants for this town's morbidity and mortality rates.