Introduzione. Progettazione Ambientale e Salute

Abstract

The need to address the risks that originate at the interface between human health, ecosystems and the man-made environment requires taking an ecosystem perspective in the environment-health relationship. Indeed, the environment is a highly interconnected system, in which human health and the health of the planet are connected and interdependent conditions. The nature of environmental risk factors, their large-scale diffusion, together with the long latency and multifactorial dimension of environmental pathologies and repercussions, make it difficult to identify the causal link between environmental damage and direct effects on health, so much so that in international legal practice environmental crimes are traditionally considered 'victimless crimes' (Skinnider, 2013). On a scientific level, however, epidemiological data show that the impact of environmental damage on health is very high. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), despite progress in many areas, environmental hazards such as air pollution, noise, heavy metal emissions, heat waves and cold spells continue to affect public health in the EU, undermining people's quality of life and life expectancy.