What do you think?
Rate this book
Contaminated Communities: Coping With Residential Toxic Exposure
Given the myriad fears and dangers associated with residential toxic exposure, it is surprising that until now no comprehensive examination of the social dynamics of exposure has been available. In Contaminated Communities, Michael R. Edelstein provides a foundation for understanding complex responses to incidents of toxic contamination-responses of the public, government agencies, members of the helping professions, and victims themselves. Drawing upon social psychological theory and an extensive survey of documented cases of toxic exposure, enlivened by excerpts drawn from more than a thousand interviews with victims, the author presents a candid and moving portrayal of the toxic victim's experience and the key stages in the course of toxic disaster. Of particular value is Edelstein's analysis of the effects of toxic exposure on life-style and on cognition, in which he explains how individuals' perceptions of themselves, their families, their community, the environment, and their government gradually change after exposure. The analysis provides both a descriptive and a theoretical framework for interpreting individual, family, community, and societal dynamics and their mutual influences and important insights into the culture of contamination. An outstanding example of "action research," this book seeks to improve our understanding of the threat of toxic disaster as a means of enhancing our ability to respond effectively.In the second edition to this groundbreaking text, the author updates and supplements the existing material with hundreds of new citations and an greatly expanded bibliography.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published July 31, 2003
20 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 27, 2012
Reaction: More emphasis needs to be placed on how our environment affects us and how our ambivalence to the environment can spell our own failures and doom.
There is strong tendency to feel and think that our environment does not contribute to our health. “Environmental psychologist Bill Ittelson long ago noted that, although object perception involves the separation of the perceiver, environmental perception requires participation and involvement. You can’t stand back and look at the environment; you are part of it” (Edelstein 82). With contamination affecting health it becomes impossible to distant the environment and “suddenly patterns of drainage on the land and the resulting movement of water are noted as well as comprehension of drawing water from a well that taps a shared underground body of water exposed to influences far beyond their perhaps long ago” (83).
Spoiler:
Contaminated Communities by Michael Edelstein gives a psycho-social perspective on contamination. Emphasis is put on how people, individually and collectively, deal with as well as how contamination affects their lives (particularly their mental thinking). In most circumstances of contamination as sense of corruption by Major examples given of community contamination are Legler and Love Canal. Legler in the late 1970s attracted middle class families that were relatively young (school age children) and were looking to get away from the chaos that was imbedded in city life. A portion of the land was leased to a mining a company for ten years and by “Nov 8th, 1978 Jackson the board of health issued a notification to resident south of the landfill their water was polluted” (Edelstein 50). The underground water supply was not suitable for drinking or partaking in daily life routine. The contamination left many adults who had bought their homes in Legler as an investment in their future feeling robbed and children sick. “For most Legler families, water had been transformed from a resource assumed taken for granted into a prize and valued possession” (59). The problem of contamination was mediate by homeowners connecting into new water lines and paying water companies for water. Love Canal, however, was older (few children, and long term residents) and populated with people who were of a blue collar background. The area had several chemical plants. The contamination could not be contained or resolved in a manner that allowed for residents to stay and so there were forced to evacuate. Living in a contaminated area is living in a breeding ground of insecurities that becoming taxing on the nerves which in return affects the overall health of an individual. In Leger adults worried about their children’s safety and their homes; while in Triana the culture of the residents had been affected by the severe contamination of the nearby river but in either case cognitive altering had occurred. Residents’ basic need for environmental safety was no longer met which prompted questions on the safety of the food, water, health, home and ultimately future.
The affect of contamination has a lasting influence cognitively. The contamination in the Bucolic Retreat and also in the people of Triana severely altered the image of the retreat. One resident remarks, “The river—you don’t dare touch it with your hand. It’s poison, I remember the pleasure and enjoyment. Now it’s dirty place and I wish it would go away. Now I don’t go that way” (87). The culture of the Triana, which had based its economy on fishing, was altered do to the contamination that forced residents to rethink how endearing or welcoming their beloved Bucolic Retreat was. Love and a sense of home and security was replaced by fear and disgust.
Human made disasters are harder to cope with mainly due to the idea that they are preventable and self inflicted. “Unless they relocate victims are forced to cope with the uncertainty and fear associated with living next to a toxic site. As a result, they suffer from chronic stress. Additionally, human caused disaster has proven to be more stressful than natural disaster and its effects are much more persistent” (120). Keeping a positive attitude and being proactive often helps as a coping strategy. Being positive limits the bleakness of the future. Being proactive, whether by constantly asking questions and obtaining knowledge about the circumstance, talking about it with others, attending social functions etc, prevents stagnation and the formation of a sinkhole that promotes self-deprivation or the victim mentality
There is strong tendency to feel and think that our environment does not contribute to our health. “Environmental psychologist Bill Ittelson long ago noted that, although object perception involves the separation of the perceiver, environmental perception requires participation and involvement. You can’t stand back and look at the environment; you are part of it” (Edelstein 82). With contamination affecting health it becomes impossible to distant the environment and “suddenly patterns of drainage on the land and the resulting movement of water are noted as well as comprehension of drawing water from a well that taps a shared underground body of water exposed to influences far beyond their perhaps long ago” (83).
Spoiler:
Contaminated Communities by Michael Edelstein gives a psycho-social perspective on contamination. Emphasis is put on how people, individually and collectively, deal with as well as how contamination affects their lives (particularly their mental thinking). In most circumstances of contamination as sense of corruption by Major examples given of community contamination are Legler and Love Canal. Legler in the late 1970s attracted middle class families that were relatively young (school age children) and were looking to get away from the chaos that was imbedded in city life. A portion of the land was leased to a mining a company for ten years and by “Nov 8th, 1978 Jackson the board of health issued a notification to resident south of the landfill their water was polluted” (Edelstein 50). The underground water supply was not suitable for drinking or partaking in daily life routine. The contamination left many adults who had bought their homes in Legler as an investment in their future feeling robbed and children sick. “For most Legler families, water had been transformed from a resource assumed taken for granted into a prize and valued possession” (59). The problem of contamination was mediate by homeowners connecting into new water lines and paying water companies for water. Love Canal, however, was older (few children, and long term residents) and populated with people who were of a blue collar background. The area had several chemical plants. The contamination could not be contained or resolved in a manner that allowed for residents to stay and so there were forced to evacuate. Living in a contaminated area is living in a breeding ground of insecurities that becoming taxing on the nerves which in return affects the overall health of an individual. In Leger adults worried about their children’s safety and their homes; while in Triana the culture of the residents had been affected by the severe contamination of the nearby river but in either case cognitive altering had occurred. Residents’ basic need for environmental safety was no longer met which prompted questions on the safety of the food, water, health, home and ultimately future.
The affect of contamination has a lasting influence cognitively. The contamination in the Bucolic Retreat and also in the people of Triana severely altered the image of the retreat. One resident remarks, “The river—you don’t dare touch it with your hand. It’s poison, I remember the pleasure and enjoyment. Now it’s dirty place and I wish it would go away. Now I don’t go that way” (87). The culture of the Triana, which had based its economy on fishing, was altered do to the contamination that forced residents to rethink how endearing or welcoming their beloved Bucolic Retreat was. Love and a sense of home and security was replaced by fear and disgust.
Human made disasters are harder to cope with mainly due to the idea that they are preventable and self inflicted. “Unless they relocate victims are forced to cope with the uncertainty and fear associated with living next to a toxic site. As a result, they suffer from chronic stress. Additionally, human caused disaster has proven to be more stressful than natural disaster and its effects are much more persistent” (120). Keeping a positive attitude and being proactive often helps as a coping strategy. Being positive limits the bleakness of the future. Being proactive, whether by constantly asking questions and obtaining knowledge about the circumstance, talking about it with others, attending social functions etc, prevents stagnation and the formation of a sinkhole that promotes self-deprivation or the victim mentality
Displaying 1 of 1 review