Natural Attenuation for Groundwater Remediation (2000) / Chapter Skim
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2 Community Concerns about Natural Attenuation
2 Community Concerns about Natural Attenuation
Pages 37-64
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From page 37... ...
While recognizing the importance of other community members, this chapter focuses on the concerns of residents who live closest to the site and are thus the most directly affected by the contamination. Although members of affected communities have concerns about all remedies for contaminated sites, they may have special questions about natural attenuation because of the lack of visible, active steps to remove the contamination.
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Appendix A lists the panelists and their affiliations. In general, panelists expressed the following concerns about natural attenuation as a method for managing the contaminated sites in their neighborhoods: · It represents a "do-nothing" approach: First and foremost among the panelists' concerns was that natural attenuation is essentially a do-nothing approach that leaves contamination in place and allows dilution, dispersion, and volatilization to transfer chemicals from one environmental medium to another.
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· Effects on mixtures are uncertain: The effects of natural attenuation on mixtures of contaminants are highly uncertain, but such mixtures are typical at contaminated sites. · Hazardous by-products may form: Breakdown products of natural attenuation, such as vinyl chloride produced during biodegradation of trichloroethene, may be more toxic than the original substance.
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Further, panelists agreed on the need for clear evidence demonstrating to the affected community that degradation and/or transformation of contaminants is occurring and will continue until cleanup goals are achieved. Panelists were concerned that developing such documentation will not be possible at many sites.
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From page 41... ...
Although other community activists and community members may not share all of these views, the issues raised by the panel were consistent with those identified by community leaders at the 1998 National Stakeholders' Forum on Monitored Natural Attenuation, which involved nearly 250 community activists, scientists, and government officials (CPEO, 1998~. Owners of contaminated sites proposing to use natural attenuation are likely to encounter one or more of these concerns in locations with active community groups.
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From page 42... ...
A 1991 NRC review of all contaminated site health studies published in the scientific literature at the time found sufficient evidence to conclude that hazardous wastes have produced serious health effects in some populations (NRC, 1991~. The NRC found that some investigations have documented a variety of symptoms of ill health including low birth weight, cardiac anomalies, headache, fatigue, and a variety of neurological problems in people exposed to contaminants from waste sites.
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From page 43... ...
In a survey comparing beliefs of residents near Michigan Superfund sites and those of environmental and public health officials, Mitchell (1992) found that the resident group, on average, ranked contaminated sites as having a risk of 4.7 on a scale of 1 through 5, with 5 representing the highest risk level.
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The tools of modern epidemiology are usually insufficient to answer the community's questions about health risks. This lack of definitive methods for confirming or disproving potential health effects can be extremely frustrating to community members.
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Economic Effects Also of concern to neighbors of contaminated sites is the potential for significant economic losses, primarily due to the decline in home values caused by proximity to a contaminated area. Many economic studies have documented such losses (NRC, 1997~.
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Whereas natural disasters tend to unite communities because the necessary response is clear, the presence of contaminated sites can divide communities (Couch et al., 1997~. In a study of effects on community function in a subdivision affected by drinking water contaminated by
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From page 47... ...
This sense of alienation can compound the stress experienced by affected individuals (Couch et al., 1997~. Neighbors of contaminated sites also may lose trust in institutions they formerly believed were established to help protect their interests (Ozonoff and Boden, 1987; McCallum et al., 1991, Edelstein, 1993; Rich et al., 1995; Brown and Mikkelsen, 1997; Ashford and Rest, 1999~.
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From page 48... ...
As a result, people often feel that life will never really return to normal." Whereas communities that experience natural disasters know the definite end point for the disaster and can then have a chance to rebuild, such clear end points are lacking in most communities affected by contaminated sites. Residents near contaminated sites lack certainty about when the contamination will be removed, whether it will be removed at all and, even if it is removed, whether latent health problems will surface later due to past exposure.
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From page 49... ...
(1993) found no single process for community involvement that is appropriate for every contaminated site; each approach must be tailored to the site and its particular social and institutional setting.
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The EPA's Superfund Community Relations Handbook advises EPA personnel "Formal [community involvement] activities are not, in fact, routinely recommended" during the preliminary site assessment period (EPA, 1992~.
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remedial process. As shown, opportunities for community review of potential remedies occur only after a list of remedial alternatives has been developed.
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survey found that residents near contaminated sites had little faith that further information about testing and work at the site would decrease their concerns; they rated the ability of information to decrease concerns as 2.4 on a scale of 1
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Following the basic principles of early community involvement, providing the community with influence in decision making and building an effective relationship with community members are steps that are likely to benefit both site owners and community members. MECHANISMS FOR INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY At some contaminated sites, the neighboring community may have organized on its own to form a group with the primary purpose of addressing the contamination problems.
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From page 54... ...
While the traditional environmental movement is led primarily by lawyers, scientists, and lobbyists, such grassroots groups typically consist of homemakers, farmers, blue-collar workers, ranchers, urban dwellers, suburban residents, lowincome earners, and people of color who do not see themselves as environmentalists in the traditional fashion (Gibbs, 1998~. Many are led by women who believe their families are in some way affected or threatened by the contamination and who quickly develop into strong leaders able to assimilate complex scientific and technical information even though their formal education may be limited (CHEl, 1989a; Levine, 1982~.
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According to ATSDR's study of community involvement programs, community outreach is most effective when it begins with an effort to learn as much as possible about the community, including its culture, diversity, geography, and political relationships (ATSDR, 1996~. EPA's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NElAC)
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From page 56... ...
Hirschhorn concluded, "Comprehensive stakeholder participation [involving parties other than citizens who are directly affected by the contamination] in risk management decisions can erode the rights of true victims of environmental risks and result in less than optimal solutions." He found that if government agencies and responsible parties "continue to use a broad view of equal stakeholders, they may discover that a vocal minority consisting of those people directly at risk will either not participate or will pose considerable obstacles to achieving the smoothest possible implementation of environmental projects." EPA has a very limited program for assisting community advisory groups at Superfund sites (EPA, 1995~.
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From page 57... ...
Another limitation of technical assistance grants is that they are available only for communities with Superfund sites (Ashford et al., 1991~. Grants also are not available for reviewing health studies conducted at contaminated sites (CHEl, 1990~.
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Although the general public may not be aware of contamination at the gas stations where natural attenuation has been used most frequently, a concerned public often is active at larger contaminated sites. These community members may be open minded and technically sophisticated, but also quite worried about potential health effects of the contamination and the potential for economic losses.
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From page 59... ...
They also generally want the responsible parties to be accountable for the pollution they created and for a permanent, effective cleanup. In summary, current programs for community involvement at contaminated sites are inadequate to address the special concerns that community members may have about natural attenuation.
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The evidence should be made available to the public in a transparent, easy-to-understand format. · Federal and state environmental regulations and guidelines for cleaning up contaminated sites affecting communities should be changed to allow community involvement as soon as the presence of contamination above health-based standards is confirmed.
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1996. Learning from Success: Health Agency Effort to Improve Community Involvement in Communities Affected by Hazardous Waste Sites.
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1993. Stakeholder Involvement: Open Processes for Researching Decisions About the Future Uses of Contaminated Sites.
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1996b. Community Advisory Groups: Partners in Decisions at Hazardous Waste Sites.
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1987. Growth of children living near the hazardous waste site, Love Canal.
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