The Effect of Social Trust on Citizens’ Health Risk Perception in the Context of a Petrochemical Industrial Complex

Vicente Tortosa-Edo,Jaume Llorens-Monzonís,Miguel López-Navarro

doi:10.3390/ijerph10010399

Vicente Tortosa-Edo, Jaume Llorens-Monzonís + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10010399

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Abstract

Perceived risk of environmental threats often translates into psychological stress with a wide range of effects on health and well-being. Petrochemical industrial complexes constitute one of the sites that can cause considerable pollution and health problems. The uncertainty around emissions results in a perception of risk for citizens residing in neighboring areas, which translates into anxiety and physiological stress. In this context, social trust is a key factor in managing the perceived risk. In the case of industrial risks, it is essential to distinguish between trust in the companies that make up the industry, and trust in public institutions. In the context of a petrochemical industrial complex located in the port of Castellón (Spain), this paper primarily discusses how trust—both in the companies located in the petrochemical complex and in the public institutions—affects citizens’ health risk perception. The research findings confirm that while the trust in companies negatively affects citizens’ health risk perception, trust in public institutions does not exert a direct and significant effect. Analysis also revealed that trust in public institutions and health risk perception are essentially linked indirectly (through trust in companies).

Highlights

In recent years, the issue of environmental quality and its effect on people’s health and well-being have gained importance in academic research
Trust in companies located in the petrochemical complex is important because they are the first responsible for managing the risks inherent to the industrial activity which themselves developed; on the other hand, trust in public institutions can play a decisive role in the risk perception because these institutions have a regulatory role and the task of supervising the firms’
We examine how citizens’ health risk perception may be influenced by trust

Summary

Introduction

The issue of environmental quality and its effect on people’s health and well-being have gained importance in academic research. The pollution associated with particular industrial sites can have negative effects on health of individuals who live nearby residential areas [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Beyond the awareness of residents about the cause-effect relationship between pollution and specific diseases, the potential exposure to contaminants create uncertainty around this issue resulting in a perception of risks contributing to undermine citizens’ welfare and quality of life. “active industrial sites, those producing petrochemical products, are associated with increased stress and self-reported illness (...) psychosocial anxiety and distress often translate into physiological stress with a wide range of effects on health and well-being”. The risk assessment in populations exposed to these hazards is an essential element in understanding health and welfare of citizens, and that assessment has not received adequate attention in the literature [8,9].

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