Anthropology and decision making about chronic technological disasters: Mixed waste remediation on the Oak Ridge Reservation
This paper discusses two related case studies of decision making about the remediation of mixed (hazardous and radioactive) wastes on the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. The three goals of the paper are to (1) place current decision-making efforts in the varied and evolving social, political, regulatory, economic, and technological contexts in which they occur; (2) present definitions and attributes of {open_quotes}successful{close_quotes} environmental decision making from the perspectives of key constituency groups that participate in decision making; and (3) discuss the role of anthropology in addressing environmental decision making. Environmental decision making about remediation is extraordinarily complex, involving human health and ecological risks; uncertainties about risks, technological ability to clean up, the financial costs of clean up; multiple and sometimes conflicting regulations; social equity and justice considerations; and decreasing budgets. Anthropological theories and methods can contribute to better understanding and, potentially, to better decision making.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States); Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN (United States); National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-96OR22464
- OSTI ID:
- 434469
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9611117-1; ON: DE97001368; TRN: 97:004415
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 1996 annual meeting of American Anthropological Association, San Francisco, CA (United States), 20-24 Nov 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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