Abstract
The aim of the work is to evaluate the effectiveness of the risk communication strategies in cases of unsafe drinking water supply in Sardinia, the Italian context with the highest population distrust in drinking water safety. During the period 2010–2015, the ordinances published on the institutional websites were analyzed, and the population risk perception was evaluated by applying, for the first time in public health threats, the “OUTRAGE Prediction & Management” software released by Sandman. Overall, 417 ordinances issued by the Sardinian Municipalities were found. Only 1.5% of the ordinances reported information about parameters, concentrations, and risks to health, whereas 4.8% indicated only the parameters and non-standard levels. By contrast, 53.2% specified only the non-standard parameter, and 40.5% indicated a generic non-drinking motivation. The outrage assessment showed values exceeding the threshold of risk acceptance, attributable to the lack and low clarity of the information reported by the ordinances. The present study allowed us to highlight critical issues in risk communication of the quality of drinking water.
Highlights
Nowadays, water intended for human consumption is still affected by quantitative and qualitative abnormalities
Informing citizens about the quality of tap water should be accompanied by studies on the risks to public health aimed at i) developing methods to be applied in risk analysis; ii) ensuring the safety of the water supply [5,6]
The risk communication process is key in public health, and the European Union is focusing on strategies capable of communicating potential risk in a timely manner, providing messages to be understood by specialist audiences but
Summary
Water intended for human consumption is still affected by quantitative and qualitative abnormalities. The European Commission has recently proposed a revision of the European drinking water legislation, the European Directive 98/83/EC [3], with the aim of improving the quality of drinking water and the access to it, as well as providing better information to citizens [4]. Informing citizens about the quality of tap water should be accompanied by studies on the risks to public health aimed at i) developing methods to be applied in risk analysis; ii) ensuring the safety of the water supply [5,6]. The risk communication process is key in public health, and the European Union is focusing on strategies capable of communicating potential risk in a timely manner, providing messages to be understood by specialist audiences (i.e., policymakers, the scientific community, and industry) but
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