Conceptualizing and Capturing Outcomes of Environmental Cleanup at Contaminated Sites

Abstract

Our article analyzes interdisciplinary literature within the social sciences on outcomes of environmental cleanups at Superfund, brownfield, and other contaminated sites. By focusing on postremediation sites and outcomes, we expand the understanding of the sociopolitical life of contaminated sites over time. First, we examine the technoscientific practices of how scientists and environmental managers seek to make cleanup outcomes legible and meaningful. Next, we engage with a wider array of literature on pollution/toxicity, uncovering circular temporalities in cleanup processes along with continuities in pollution/toxicity and in political struggle. Finally, we examine the social worlds of postremediation landscapes, drawing attention to how cleanups create new relationships among people, history, and nature. In conclusion, we identify areas of opportunity for these insights to inform the conceptualization and evaluation of cleanup outcomes in ways that better incorporate the complex dynamics of postremediation social worlds.

Teaching Students to Incorporate Community Perspective into Environmental Engineering Problem Definition through Iterative Conceptual Site Models

“…This student then went on to describe how utilizing stakeholder engagement early in the project makes the engineers take a more critical view of a site that may not initially be considered "contaminated," saying, "Once we add in the perspective of someone who is directly affected by the potential contamination, we look at the site with a more critical view." These comments demonstrate that the students are beginning to consider one of the most challenging questions with regards to socially responsible site remediation: do the target remediation goals set by regulatory agencies match community members' perception of remediation [23]? Students were able to articulate how the amount of risk that is acceptable to an engineer may not be reflected by the downstream community and relate that to problem definition in their modified CSMs.…”

“…Similarly, Mihelcic et al specify that social scientists must be engaged in environmental engineering projects that are being used to address the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, explicitly stating that ethnographic research methods and program evaluation are necessary for environmental engineering projects to successfully account for the social and structural conditions within a community [21]. Researchers have expressed interest in community engagement throughout environmental cleanup phases and remediation practices in both developed and developing communities [18], [22], [23]. Researchers have called for more stakeholder engagement throughout the entire site remediation process during discussions regarding land use, risk perception, and broader social outcomes [18], [23].…”

“…Researchers have expressed interest in community engagement throughout environmental cleanup phases and remediation practices in both developed and developing communities [18], [22], [23]. Researchers have called for more stakeholder engagement throughout the entire site remediation process during discussions regarding land use, risk perception, and broader social outcomes [18], [23]. Based on the growing body of literature about community engagement in environmental engineering, environmental engineering students must learn strategies that incorporate community engagement into the problem definition stage of their project.…”