Social Acceptability of Bioremediation Technologies. A. K. Wolfe and D. J. Bjornstad, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Bioremediation offers the promise of immobilizing difficult-to-remediate metals and radionuclides in the subsurface environment. Our research focuses on the issue of social acceptability of bioremediation technologies. Experience in other realms has shown that some technologies promoted by agencies and supported by technical expertise, such as incineration or those involving things nuclear, frequently are dismissed out of hand as non-options when proffered in the public arena. Therefore, the fundamental question underlying our work is, "under what circumstances would bioremediation technologies be considered seriously as a remediation alternative." We emphasize site-specific decision-oriented dialogs in the public arena, in which parties such as technology sponsors, regulators, local government, researchers, civic and environmental groups, and unaffiliated members of the public deliberate about remediation options.
Initially, we developed a conceptual framework called Public Acceptability of Controversial Technologies (PACT) that identifies critical dimensions affecting acceptability. Then, we analyzed recordings of U.S. Department of Energy Site-Specific Advisory Board meetings at three sites. These recordings were a venue through which to observe a real-world, formal deliberative process unobtrusively, using PACT to structure our analyses. This paper discusses results from a series of simulation exercises designed to gather empirical data in a relatively controlled way. These exercises involve presenting small groups of role-playing "involved parties" with a series of scenarios, each of which incrementally adds pieces of information that have the potential to alter participants’ willingness to consider various bioremediation options seriously. We analyzed the process and substantive content of participant interactions.
This work was funded by the U.S. DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research through its Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research Program, Bioremediation and its Societal Implications and Concerns Program Element.
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