Environmental risk perception and well-being: effects of the landfill siting process in two southern Ontario communities

In the context of siting (environmentally) noxious land uses, recent resear ch suggests that the well-being of individuals and communities is impacted as much by the decision-making process as the outcome itself. The study res ults presented in this paper stem from an ongoing, two-stage quantitative/q ualitative investigation of impacts on individual and community well-being associated with the environmental assessment process in Ontario, Canada. Th is research uses a parallel case-study design to investigate two proposed l andfill sites in southern Ontario. Qualitative in-depth interviews (n = 36) , conducted across a variety of stakeholder groups, were used to, address t he following objectives: to explore the nature of concerns experienced by i ndividuals faced with a local landfill site proposal; to explore the effect s Of the siting process on individuals and communities; and to examine the coping strategies employed by individuals in response to impacts experience d. The work attempts to apply theories of risk society (as conceptualised b y Beck and Giddens) at a community scale. In so doing, we build on the work of health geographers attempting to link the social and contextual with th e medical. Overall, substantial impacts on individual and community well-be ing were reported across all stakeholder groups interviewed: these included stress, disempowerment, hostility and divisions within the community. The experience of psychosocial impacts and effectiveness of coping strategies i s shaped by certain factors associated with the site and the siting process (including uncertainty and the perceived lack of meaningful participation) . The links between risk, process and impacts are theorized using a concept ual framework which incorporates site and process factors, effects on daily life (e.g. feelings of losing control, mistrust), and Gidden's conception of 'ontological security'. These findings have implications for environment al decision-making, as they suggest a need to locate the delicate balance p oint between community involvement and an expedient decision-making process within variable community contexts. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.