Category: Health impacts

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The Red Forest: Picturing Radiation with Infrared Film

Explore the unseen nature of Chernobyl with photographer Edward Thompson Dr Thom Davies, Research Fellow at the Department of Sociology, University of Warwick @ThomDavies During my ethnographic research with communities in Chernobyl, Ukraine, a repeated theme during interviews was the invisibility of pollution. Often my research participants, who still live on land contaminated by the … Continue reading The Red Forest: Picturing Radiation with Infrared Film

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The derelict afterlives of para-nuclear waste

Becky Alexis-Martin explores the materiality of the nuclear industry in a multi-sited photo-essay Dr Becky Alexis-Martin, Senior Research Fellow in Human Geography at The University of Southampton. @MysteriousDrBex A layer of detritus festoons every abandoned filing cabinet and empty shelf. The fierce midday sun pierces the hazy windows, causing suspended motes to shimmer in the … Continue reading The derelict afterlives of para-nuclear waste

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Translating Toxic Exposure: Taiwan RCA

Featured Image: In front of the Taipei High Court, 27 October 2017. On the banners: “Another victory [for the plaintiffs]! Now pay compensation!” “Regrets” [for victims already deceased] Photo: Jung-lung Chang Paul Jobin, Hsin-hsing Chen, Yi-ping Lin[1] In her last editorial in Toxic News, Alice Mah raised the importance of translation in issues of environmental justice. … Continue reading Translating Toxic Exposure: Taiwan RCA

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Lessons Learned from an Experiment in Infrastructuring

Gwen Ottinger, Drexel University  (This article was originally published in the May 2017 edition and is re-published here alongside the new fully translated version.) Almost two years ago, colleagues and I began an experiment in infrastructuring. Our working group of social scientists, programmers, environmental justice activists, and residents of “frontline” communities set out to create … Continue reading Lessons Learned from an Experiment in Infrastructuring

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Flatlining: Exploring hidden toxic landscapes and the embodiment of contamination at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, USA.

Stephanie Malin, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Colorado State University and Becky Alexis-Martin, Senior Research Fellow in Human Geography at The University of Southampton Within the boundaries of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, black bears prowl, elk tussle, prairie dogs burrow and porcupines forage. A diverse array of wildlife, wedged between the cities of Boulder … Continue reading Flatlining: Exploring hidden toxic landscapes and the embodiment of contamination at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, USA.

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Temporary Refuge from Invisible Threats: Outdoor Evacuation Retreats for Children from Fukushima, Japan

Elicia Cousins, doctoral student in Sociology at Northeastern University. Spearheaded by individuals, citizen groups and NGOs across the country, hoyō seek to allow children and families to spend time away from the contaminated areas where they still live. Featured image: Hiking through a lush summer forest in Kiyosato, Yamanashi Prefecture. Photo credit: Elicia Cousins Mornings during school vacation … Continue reading Temporary Refuge from Invisible Threats: Outdoor Evacuation Retreats for Children from Fukushima, Japan

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Coal Mining: Ecological and Environmental Disasters in China

ZHANG Yulin, Department of Sociology, Nanjing University As the ‘World Factory of 21st century’, China uses coal for 2/3 of its energy consumption. Large scale coal mine excavation—which constituted 3.97 billion tons in 2013—has caused serious ecological damage in rural China, with the most severe situation occurring in Shanxi Province.   The recovery deposits and … Continue reading Coal Mining: Ecological and Environmental Disasters in China

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Grapple Slings and Moonshine: Conversations with the men who tested atomic weapons on Christmas Island

Becky Alexis-Martin, Research Fellow, Department of Geography, University of Southampton @CalamityCake Nuclear testing is often portrayed as a bombastic process, overshadowed by the devastating majesty of mushroom clouds and described in terms of annihilation or dramatic uncertainty. This is understandable, given the inherently destructive nature of nuclear weapons. However, my aim is not to sensationalise the … Continue reading Grapple Slings and Moonshine: Conversations with the men who tested atomic weapons on Christmas Island

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Editorial: Post-Atomic thoughts: Remembering Chernobyl and Fukushima

Dr Thom Davies, Research Fellow, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick @ThomDavies Around five years ago, I was in a village near Chernobyl. Bad Ukrainian electropop was hissing out of the car radio as we drove north towards the Exclusion Zone fence. I was frantically writing PhD research notes while we bumped along an uneven … Continue reading Editorial: Post-Atomic thoughts: Remembering Chernobyl and Fukushima