Conceptualizing and Capturing Outcomes of Environmental Cleanup at Contaminated Sites

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Environmental Studies
• Sociology

Background:

• Contaminated sites like Superfund and brownfields require extensive environmental cleanups.
• Post-remediation phases are often overlooked, limiting understanding of long-term site impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze interdisciplinary literature on the social science outcomes of environmental cleanups.
• To expand the understanding of the sociopolitical dynamics of contaminated sites post-remediation.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of interdisciplinary social science research.
• Analysis of technoscientific practices in cleanup outcome assessment.
• Examination of pollution/toxicity literature for temporalities and continuities.
• Exploration of social worlds in post-remediation landscapes.

Main Results:

• Cleanup outcomes are made legible and meaningful through specific technoscientific practices.
• Environmental cleanups exhibit circular temporalities and continuities in pollution and political struggle.
• Post-remediation landscapes foster new relationships between people, history, and nature.

Conclusions:

• Insights from post-remediation social worlds can inform cleanup conceptualization and evaluation.
• A more dynamic approach is needed to incorporate complex social factors into cleanup assessments.
• Future research should focus on the long-term sociopolitical life of remediated sites.