Research is in the air in Valle del Serchio

Abstract

In this paper, we will present an ongoing Citizen Science (CS) project in environmental epidemiology in five European countries focussing on the Italian pilot study conducted in the Serchio Valley (Tuscany). The area is rich in natural, cultural and historic significance, but it also suffers from environmental contamination from a variety of sources, including industry, which is a health concern for the local population. The study is framed as a Post-Normal Science (PNS) project, applying, in particular, the idea of extended peer community (EPC). The research team looked for and encouraged the engagement of local residents in all the phases of the project, from the framing of the problem to the definition of the specific research questions, the research design, the collection and analysis of data, the dissemination of results, and the drafting of policy recommendations. We discuss the novelty of our approach, the progress so far, the different types of challenges encountered and the strategies adopted to deal with them. Besides the totally unexpected problems generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, we focus on the difficulty in conforming to the requirements of standard medical ethics, which do not take into account the peculiarities of projects such as ours.