Risk perception survey in two high-risk areas

Guido Signorino (1) , Elise Beck (2)

1 University of Messina
2 PACTE - Pacte, Laboratoire de sciences sociales

This chapter presents the main results of a risk perception survey in two sicilian areas. The survey used a questionnaire on a representative sample of 1200 people living in the petrochemical areas of Augusta–Priolo (n = 700) and Milazzo–Valle del Mela (n = 500). The survey consisted in a questionnaire which included mental maps. The aim of the survey was to increase comprehension of the risk perception characteristics of the local populations and of their socioeconomic determinants – a topic crucial to defining appropriate communication strategies and to elaborating and supporting land remediation policies based on bottom-up methodologies and public health plans for preventing illness. The Spatial Perception of Risk, Health, Environment, and its Communication (PRITASC) survey provided a comparison of the risk perception profiles of the two populations and studied the association between risk perception and many social and economic characteristics of populations, finding that gender, working conditions, being parents (and especially mothers), age, and education affect risk perception patterns. The research results show that the two populations have different perceptions of diverse risks, except those more strictly associated with the presence of industrial plants – that is, risks that relate to health, the environment and industrial hazards, for which the survey showed identical risk perception profiles.

Mots clés: risk perception; petrochemical plants; survey; mental maps; GIS; Sicily

Domaines: Géographie

Guido Signorino, Elise Beck. Risk perception survey in two high-risk areas. Pierpaolo Mudu; Benedetto Terracini; Marco Martuzzi. Human health in areas with industrial contamination, World Health Organization - Europe, pp.232-245, 2014. ⟨hal-01092806⟩