Politicians, public health officials and the general public were all concerned about ozone depletion, air pollution and carcinogenic substances when asked to rate their concern for 23 potential, environmentally related health risks.
Method
A questionnaire was distributed to all city and county politicians, all city and county officials responsible for environmental and public health and a random sample of 750 residents of Uppsala county, Sweden. The questionnaire was made up of throe parts. In part L participants were asked to rate their concern for 23 specified environmentally related health risks. The second part of the questionnaire required respondents to list the five environmentally related health risks which most concerned them. A series of questions about each of these five, self-selected risks then followed. The third part included about "acceptable risk" and level of confidence and trust in various organizations and agencies.
Results
A majority of the general population expressed concern for risks associated with radiation, air pollution, ozone depletion and carcinogenic substances. Officials were less concerned than politicians and the general population for most risks, although the order of concern was similar. Risks associated with noise, household waste, Ws and electrical appliances were of minor concern to the majority of respondents in all three groups. Men and women were concerned about the same risks, with women expressing greater concern than men. Those above age 55 expressed greater concern than younger respondents.
Respondents from all three groups were unable or unwilling to determine an "acceptable risk" for scenarios concerning traffic injury and cancer. Nearly 80% of respondents reported that they received information about environmental risks through television, radio and daily newspapers. Politicians and officials, but not the general population, reported that government and scientific publications were common sources of information. Although only a small minority stated that they had all the information they needed about environmental health risks, only an even smaller minority reported that they had actively sought information. Assuming that risks could be completely removed, more than half of all respondents reported a willingness to pay at least 5000 SEK. A clear majority or respondents from all three groups indicated their trust for experts, researchers and government officials concerned with environmental risks and public health issues.
Discussion
The results demonstrate that the three groups ranked environmental health risks in a similar order but that the degree of concern varied. Officials charged with evaluating such risks and reaching decisions about exposure tended to be less concerned. The results indicate the need for regular and repeated surveys. Surveys can help to determine if there are discrepancies between concerns and calculated health risks. Knowledge about similarities and discrepancies in the concerns of different groups in a society can provide a useful basis for discussing and determining policy related to environmental health risks.
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