ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS AND COMMUNITY DISSENSION IN RURAL OKLAHOMA

Abstract

Drawing from in-depth interviews, participant observation, and document analysis we examine a contentious environmental dispute surrounding contamination from a decommissioned zinc smelter plant in rural Oklahoma. Environmental grievances center around potential health effects associated with lead, cadmium, and arsenic contamination. The company that owns the former zinc smelter facility argues that they are operating in compliance with all environmental health and safety standards and many citizens applaud their ongoing remediation efforts. In an effort to improve its public image, the company has launched a community outreach program and is offering to sample residents' yards. A group of concerned citizens, however, believes that the health and safety of their community have been compromised by the environmental contamination. These residents have garnered legal support from a nonlocal law firm and they plan to pursue legal damages as part of their campaign of environmental cleanup. Both sides have engaged in a heated public dialogue to mobilize support for their respective campaigns. The results of our study indicate that the environmental dispute is centered on the ambiguity of harm and conflicting perceptions of causation.

Notes

¹The original owner of the smelter was Blackwell Zinc, Co., but through acquisitions the site was later owned by Cyprus Amax and Phelps Dodge. In March of 2007, Phelps Dodge was purchased by Freeport McMoran, but to be consistent with media accounts and respondent interviews, we use “Phelps Dodge” throughout the text.