(De)Constructing Risk in Place: Sour Gas in Alberta, Canada. J. D. Evans, T. D. Garvin,* and J. Hodgson, University of Alberta, Canada
Rising energy costs and the growing demands for natural gas have driven the development of marginal gas fields around the world. In Alberta, Canada, this has taken the form of increased usage of ‘sour’ gas reserves as viable energy sources for local and world markets. ‘Sour’ gas is natural gas containing high levels of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) which is highly toxic. Newly developed technology has increased the economic viability of removing sulphur from the sour gas, resulting in ‘sweet’ gas safe for distribution through existing natural gas networks. However there is little consensus on the risks to humans and animals through exposure to low-level, or ambient, sour gas or of the risks of the outputs of sour gas processing facilities. Despite this uncertainty, considerable sour gas development continues. This paper presents a case study of the siting of sour gas well near a major urban centre in the late 1990s. The study examined the competing cultural and social constructions of risk presented by industry, community groups and the regulating government agency. The study found that the risk assessment process became a venue for competing and evolving expressions of place-based culture that was specifically related to concepts of ‘safety,’ ‘home,’ and ‘security.’ As a result, risk became embedded in definitions of landscape and place, and became a tool of cultural expression in the highly contentious siting process.
*International Travel Award.
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