In France, industrial zones characterized by numerous and varied industrial activities and related infrastructure (road traffic, district heating, agriculture, etc.) give rise to situations of multiple exposures, which have led the public to question the potential impact on their health. To better understand the cumulative emissions within an industrial zone and to reflect population exposure, area-based studies have been conducted over the past fifteen years with the goal of developing concrete management proposals for the people living there. Santé publique France has reviewed the available area studies to identify useful information for its deliberations on establishing epidemiological surveillance around industrial clusters. Across all the analyzed area studies, the pollutants of concern most frequently identified are 1,3-butadiene, benzene, and arsenic. The available toxicological data, particularly regarding the critical effects of pollutants of concern, primarily focus on the respiratory system and upper airways, as well as the hepatic and hematopoietic systems. The study results suggest that industries are not solely responsible for the risks and that certain related activities essential to the region’s functioning—including road traffic—also contribute to population exposure. The approach followed makes it possible to establish, for each zone, an inventory of pollution sources, which is not always possible at present even when using existing environmental databases. A potential health risk can then be assessed for the local population, within the limits of the uncertainties and available data taken into account. Within the framework of epidemiological surveillance, area studies thus provide concrete data regarding the characterization of exposure and help identify health indicators specific to the industrial activities present.