No Safe Place: Toxic Waste, Leukemia, and Community Action

by Phil Brown, Edwin J. Mikkelsen, Jonathan Harr (Foreword)

Toxic waste, contaminated water, cancer clusters―these phrases suggest deception and irresponsibility. But more significantly, they are watchwords for a growing struggle between communities, corporations, and government. In No Safe Place , sociologists, public policy professionals, and activists will learn how residents of Woburn, Massachusetts discovered a childhood leukemia cluster and eventually sued two corporate giants. Their story gives rise to questions important to any concerned What kind of government regulatory action can control pollution? Just how effective can the recent upsurge of popular participation in science and technology be? Phil Brown, a medical sociologist, and Edwin Mikkelsen, psychiatric consultant to the plaintiffs, look at the Woburn experience in light of similar cases, such as Love Canal, in order to show that toxic waste contamination reveals fundamental flaws in the corporate, governmental, and scientific spheres.

The authors strike a humane, constructive note amidst chilling odds, advocating extensive lay involvement based on the Woburn model of civic action. Finally, they propose a safe policy for toxic wastes and governmental/corporate responsibility. Woburn, the authors predict, will become a code word for environmental struggles.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 1990

Reviews

[Anna Engel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a companion to "A Civil Action," which follows the legal aspects of the Woburn story. "No Safe Place" focuses more on the community's efforts, particularly its popular epidemiology work. After summarizing the Woburn story, the book examines the place and importance of popular epidemiology, despite the scientific community's poo-pooing of such data.

It's very sad that litigation is the only viable option for obtaining justice. The ponderous pace of the federal government's response is disappointing, both for constituents (especially those with alleged health effects) and for the environment.

[Lenny]

Possibly outdated based on some of the judicial decisions of the past 15 years, but still a worthy read and new view into the world of Woburn and lay epidemiology. Some social aspects, a lot of psychological, and a good deal of discussion on barriers and challenges to lay-person science in toxic waste cases.