Objectives: evaluation of mortality and hospitalization of residents in five Italian National Priority Contaminated Sites, studied in the SENTIERI Project, for those pathologies which, on the basis of the assessments of international agencies and bodies, are known to have an aetiological connection with exposure to specific environmental pollutants.
Design: ecological study. SETTING AND PARTICIOANTS: resident population in the sites of Trieste and Piombino (steel plants), and Falconara, Livorno, and the industrial area of Milazzo (petrochemical plants and/or refineries). Data extracted from the Sixth SENTIERI Report.
Main outcome measures: mortality (2013-2017) and hospitalization (2014-2018) for associated causes by exposure to specific pollutants detected in the soil and water matrices.
Results: the results obtained do not show common patterns between the excesses found in Trieste and Piombino Sites (steel plants) nor among Livorno, Falconara, and Milazzo (petrochemicals and/or refineries). Livorno and Trieste sites, having a larger population, show the greatest number of excesses.
Conclusions: the proposed approach can be a useful tool, in addition to others, for the study of the health profile of residents in contaminated sites, being also the basis for aetiological epidemiological studies.
Keywords: environment and public health; environmental exposure; environmental pollutants; petrochemical industry; steel plant.