RESEARCH, ENVIRONMENTS AND HEALTH IN THE MARCHE: EVIDENCE AND PROPOSALS

The Marche Region (Italy) is a territory rich in natural resources but not without environmental criticalities that may impact on human health. One of the most critical area is the Site of National Interest (SIN) located adjacent to the city of Falconara Marittima and not far from other small cities. Falconara Marittima has been the subject of at least five different epidemiological studies, for a total period of observation of about 20 years, which have highlighted several health problems considering both the deaths, “the tip of the iceberg”, and diagnoses. Given the numerous and consistent evidence of a population that is sick and dies more than the regional average, nothing has yet emerged concerning the possible correlation between the environmental sources of pollutants with the excesses of diseases found in the territory. In fact, if on the one hand the epidemiological investigation shave provided important observations, contributing to bring out the state of health of the Falconara M. citizens, the same cannot be said for the accumulated knowledge regarding possible environmental problems (e.g.mapping pollutants and their sources in the territory). The lack of attempts to correlate the pollutants (and their sources) with the greater incidence of certain diseases, determines a terrific lack of knowledge that cannot provide the crucial guidelines (for the legislator) for the necessary actions to be taken for a more effective primary prevention of the diseases. The citizens of Falconara M. have to be considered a real “biological model” to in vivo investigate the effects of the environment on normal biological processes and, beyond the limits of physiological adaptation, how pathogenetic process can be induced.