Environmental Risks Perception Among Citizens Living Near Industrial Plants: A Cross-Sectional Study

Marco Dettori, Paola Pittaluga, Giulia Busonera, Carmelo Gugliotta, Antonio Azara, Andrea Piana, Antonella Arghittu and Paolo Castiglia
Additional contact information
Marco Dettori: Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Paola Pittaluga: Department of Architecture Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Giulia Busonera: Department of Architecture Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Carmelo Gugliotta: Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Antonio Azara: Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Andrea Piana: Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Antonella Arghittu: University Hospital in Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Paolo Castiglia: Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-19

Abstract: The present work is a cross-sectional study aimed at assessing the risk perception and evaluating the community outrage linked to environmental factors among a self-selected sample of citizens living in an area characterized by the presence of industrial structures of high emotional impact. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to the population by publishing a Google form URL code in local and regional newspapers and via social media. The resulting data were entered on Excel and analyzed. Qualitative variables were summarized with absolute and relative (percentage) frequencies. The results showed that the event that causes the greatest worry was air pollution, with 92.6% of the respondents stating that they perceived the problem as “very” or “quite” worrying. Furthermore, all the health problems investigated in relation to environmental quality aroused concern among the interviewees, with 93.1% believing there was a cause-effect relationship between environmental quality and health. Overall, as other studies had previously underlined, the survey shows that the perceived risks are not always in line with the real ones, Thus, it is imperative to articulate interventions aimed at offering the population objective tools to enable them to interpret the risks themselves. In this regard, a fundamental role is played by adequate communication between the competent bodies and political decision-makers and the population.

Keywords: risk perception; community outrage; environmental risks perception; environmental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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