Environmental pollution and health effects in the Quirra area, Sardinia (Italy)

Quirra is a village located in the Italian island of Sar-dinia, close to a big military base where ballistic missiles and weapons are tested. In the past years and recently, the zone has been called to the attention of the media due to the so-called “Quirra syndrome”, an apparently off-normal incidence of illnesses in that zone. The media indicated a possible cause of the above situation in the military use of Depleted Uranium. The paper carries out a statistical assess-ment to verify if the “Quirra syndrome” exists, in order to evaluate health effects. Moreover, one of the causes of pos-sible pollution - electromagnetic fields due to military war-fare use - is addressed, by means also of experimental meas-urements carried out on site. The results show that, on one side, the so-called “Quirra syndrome” has epidemiological relevance, and, on the other, the measured levels of elec-tromagnetic fields show artificial pollution and require more investigation.