Contaminated communities: An examination of some psychological and social impacts of water contamination in two small communities

This multidisciplinary case study explores the human relationship with water and place, leading to an examination of psychological and sociological impacts of water contamination. The paper draws on the research of Edelstein (1988)1, Erickson (1976, 1994)2, and Crouch and Kroll-Smith, who have documented these effects in water contamination events stemming from, as Couch and Kroll-Smith have termed it, "Chronic Technical Disasters."3.;Home drinking water wells in two communities in the Town of East Fishkill, NY, were contaminated by the degreaser TCE (tetrachloroethylene). In one instance, the contamination was caused in the early 1960s by a contractor providing shelf systems to IBM. In the other case, the contamination was caused by a company manufacturing metal furniture. Emerging from interviews and surveys was a finding of significant loss of trust in institutions ranging from town government to state health departments.;1Edelstein, Michael R. Contaminated Communities: Coping with Residential Toxic Exposure, Boulder, CO: Westview, 1988, second edition. 2Erikson, Kai T. -- Everything in its Path: Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood. NY: Touchstone Books, 1976. -- A New Species of Trouble: Explorations in Disaster, Trauma and Community. NY: Norton Press, 1994. 3Couch, Stephen and J. Stephen Kroll-Smith. -- The Chronic Technical Disaster: Toward a Social Scientific Perspective. Social Science Quarterly, 1985, Iss. 66, pp 564--575. -- Kroll-Smith, J. Stephen and Stephen R. Couch. The Real Disaster is Above Ground: A Mine Fire and Social Conflict. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1990.