Risk perception and access to environmental information in four areas in Italy affected by natural or anthropogenic pollution

A human biomonitoring (HBM) survey in four areas affected by natural or anthropogenic arsenic pollution wasconducted in Italy within the framework of the SEpiAs project. A questionnaire, including the exploration ofrisk perception (RP) regarding environmental hazards and access to and trust in information, was administeredto 282 subjects stratified by area, gender and age.The surveywas designed to investigate howpopulations living in polluted areas could adopt prevention-orientedhabits, fostered by the awareness of existing risks and, in addition, how increased knowledge of RP and informationflows could support researchers in identifying recommendations, and presenting and disseminating HBMresults.This study characterizes the four areas in terms of RP and access to and trust in environmental information, andprovides insights into the influence of RP and environmental information on food consumption.For the data analysis, a combined random forest (RF) and logistic regression approach was carried out. RF wasapplied to the variables derived from the questionnaire in order to identify the most important in terms of theaims defined. Associations were then tested using Fisher's exact test and assessed with logistic regression inorder to adjust for confounders.Results showed that the perception of and personal exposure to atmospheric and water pollution, hazardous industriesandwaste, hazardous material transportation andwaste was higher in geographical areas characterizedby anthropogenic pollution. Citizens living in industrial areas appeared to be aware of environmental risks andhad more confidence in environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) than in public authorities. Inaddition, they reported an insufficient circulation of information.Concerning the influence of RP and environmental information on food consumption, a high perception of personalexposure to atmospheric pollution and hazardous industries was associated with a lower consumptionof local fish.In conclusion, different RPs and information flowpatterns were observed in areaswith arsenic of natural origin orin industrial contexts. These findings may be useful for targeted risk communication plans in support of riskmanagementstrategies.