Idrocarburi non metanici nell'atmosfera in prossimità di impianti di primo trattamento del greggio [Atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbons near plants of crude oil first treatment]

Recently, the continuous expansion of the drilling activity to oil extraction purposes in the proximity of residential areas has led to focus the attention on the impact of this highly industrialized process on public health. In fact, people living near this kind of plants must cope with various problems, such as air and noise pollution, contamination of soil and groundwater, heavy traffic to and from the site, accidents and malfunctions in the plant. In this context, the health risk assessment is hampered by the fact that exposure to chemicals cannot be definitively assessed due both to the inability in defining type and concentrations of all the compounds released into the environment and to the problem of the coexposure to other pollutants. Despite the now overt and widespread interest generated by this subject, to date there are not so many studies based on populations regarding health effects on the communities living in the vicinity of drill and extraction sites, and this creates the need to conduct monitoring campaign and epidemiological studies that verify the possible existence and nature of pattern of diseases associated with these activities. This review identifies the main atmospheric pollutants in the vicinity of a plant of first crude oil treatment and seeks to provide an overview of their sources and their characteristics.