The process model of displacement: a case study analysis of three nuclear technology projects
Date
2017
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The analysis of displacement associated with mega projects, like the construction and operation of nuclear facilities, has largely been event-based. Examination of nuclear technologies has usually focused on technical, economic, political, and, in some cases, environmental factors. In this dissertation, I maintain that social dimensions need to be added to those examinations. Social dimensions appear in the form of physical, emotional, social, and psychological displacement of people throughout the life cycle of nuclear projects, from planning through waste disposal. Understanding displacement in this context requires a framework and methodology that conceives of displacement as an enduring, evolving, open-ended process. A Socio-Political Ecology framework helps us understand how nuclear projects influence, and are influenced by, human wants and needs, environmental conditions and resources, attitudes towards risk, and the existing political climate. The framework also draws attention to the impact of those factors on the social environment in general, and on the displacement of people in particular. Using a Process Model of Displacement we can examine displacement not as a one-time event but rather as a multi-faceted, on-going process that begins when the planning begins and does not stop even when the doors of the facility have been closed. The framework and Process Model of Displacement are validated in this dissertation using data gathered from the three case studies: The Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Washington; the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine; and the proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant, Maharashtra, India. The Process Model of Displacement reveals negative social consequences of nuclear technology that have occurred throughout its history, continue to occur in the present, and will need to be planned for in the future. Those negative consequences and the impacts on society need to be at the forefront of policy-making and decision-making about nuclear technology and other mega projects.
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Keywords
Health and environmental sciences, Displacement, Environmental impact, Nuclear power, Social impact