The Cases of the Navajo Nation, Radford Arsenal, and Camp Minden
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Contesting Risk, Expertise, and Environmental Justice on the Fenceline: The Cases of the Navajo Nation, Radford Arsenal, and Camp Minden Gregory Douglas Nelson Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Science and Technology Studies Eileen Crist, Co-Chair James H. Collier, Co-Chair Daniel Breslau Travis Williams Brian Salvatore August 22, 2016 Blacksburg, VA Keywords: Fenceline Knowledge and Expertise, Black Mesa Coal Slurry Pipeline, Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Camp Minden, Open Burning, Hazardous Waste, Extraction, Coal, Slurry, Citizen Science, Environmental Justice, Scholar-Activist Research, M6 Disposal Copyright 2016 Gregory Douglas Nelson Contesting Risk, Expertise, and Environmental Justice on the Fenceline: The Cases of the Navajo Nation, Radford Arsenal, and Camp Minden Gregory Douglas Nelson Abstract: For Scholarly and General Audiences: This dissertation examines the contestations over the politics of knowledge, risk, and environmental justice in three fenceline sites. Mobilizing the fenceline standpoint to study risk strengthens our objective understanding of the social situatedness of risk. To illustrate how a fenceline standpoint contributes to stronger objectivity of risk contestations, I survey public discourse of coal slurry extraction in Black Mesa, Arizona using an environmental justice framework. Discursive justifications for the construction of the slurry pipeline reveal how environmental injustice in the fenceline community emerged through urban controversies over water and power generation that excluded a fenceline standpoint. Insights from Black Mesa frame the next two cases: open burning hazardous waste at Radford Army Ammunition Plant, and M6 Disposal at Camp Minden, Louisiana. At Radford, scholar-activist research examines the contestations of risk at one of the most hazardous facilities in the nation. I analyze the construction of risk from open burning of hazardous from a fenceline standpoint. I discursively situate the controversy over fenceline community risk from open burning, by showing the inadequacies of official risk assessments. Critical discourse analysis of risk shows the extant contestations over the practice of open burning. In juxtaposition to Radford, the Camp Minden open burn controversy demonstrates how a fenceline movement successfully constructed alternatives to open burning. Fenceline success in Minden is forcing scrutiny over the risks produced by the practice of open burning explosives across the United States. The activation of fenceline knowledge and expertise, through grassroots organizing, is propelling inquiry from scientific and technical experts of the American Chemical Society who are questioning why the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency have approved the use of open burning at other sites despite safer alternative technology. Synthetically, each case illustrates the importance of fenceline knowledge as a crucial site of expertise. I present an argument for how a fenceline standpoint can challenge regulatory and producer constructions of fenceline risk. The creation of a program of research: Critical Risk Analysis, offers a model for scholar-activist intervention on the fenceline. The Camp Minden Dialogue demonstrates a successful example of how fenceline expert-activists can influence the construction of risk. Normatively, I build the argument that environmental justice research within Science and Technology Studies ought to situate the fenceline standpoint as equal to the competing epistemological claims of production and regulatory experts in order to strengthen the objectivity of our research in contested fenceline sites. Dedication This work is dedicated to the victims of the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech mass shooting and all others who have suffered from energetic explosive materials and fossil fuel extraction. I was a member of the Class of 2008 in the International Studies and Foreign Languages Departments at Virginia Tech during this tragic event that particularly affected our departments. I dedicate this dissertation to Jocelyn Couture Nowak whose long conversations in French during high school helped to inspire my scholarly endeavors. This work is dedicated to indigenous peoples struggling on the frontlines of mineral resource colonialism. It is dedicated to all the victims of relocation and cultural genocide waged by Peabody Coal Company on Black Mesa, Arizona. Finally, this dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Dr. Douglas James Nelson and Angela Nelson whose support, sacrifice, and resilience made me possible. iii Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge my family and the sacrifices they have made to support and enable this scholarly work in the times of the neoliberal university where funding constraints, budget cuts, student loans, and uncertainty abound. Without the support of Doug, Angie, Dan, Cliff, and Jody Nelson, and the Garifo Family this work would not have been possible. I cannot give enough thanks to the steadfast support of James Collier, Eileen Crist Patzig, Daniel Breslau, Skip Fuhrman, Mathew Goodrum, Brian Salvatore, Travis Williams, and Matt Wisnioski, who all served on the committee at various times. Virginia Tech’s Science and Technology Studies Department’s interdisciplinary commitment curated the environment needed to propel the openness and freedom to embark on this work. The methodological training of Dr. Kwame Harrison from Virginia Tech’s Sociology Department, Dr. Karl Precoda, and students Trevor Jamerson, April Stapp, Sara McDonough, and Gary Wood helped to open new terrains within my sociological understanding. Our many conversations significantly helped me develop the nuance of the social issues of qualitative research in context to the rich philosophical exploration of Dr. Collier’s philosophy courses and Dr. Crist’s environmental justice approach. I extend special thanks to the deep persistence of Dr. Collier and Dr. Crist. Without their dedication to mentorship and student advising this work, which that at times seemed too overwhelming for the researcher, would have never materialized. I thank all of my teachers who nurtured and cared for creativity. Their trust and support of unusual methods and insistent questioning deeply enriched my scholarly development. Without the support of teachers from as far back as 4th and 5th grade like Wanda Chalmers, Mark Hoover, Anne Trumbo, Karen Finch, Colin Baker, Karen Coston, Bill Ray, Dr. Diana Love this inquiry would not have been possible. Anne Trumbo, whose volunteer work in The Price’s Fork Elementary School consisted of teaching a second language to elementary students, propelled my scholarly development and significantly broadened my horizons at an early age. Her unwavering dedication to her students over the years was not underappreciated by myself. Her influence continues in my life as I became a French speaker under her guidance in high school. I would like to acknowledge all of my friends who supported my intellectual development, fostered my creativity, and nurtured my inquisitive soul. Conversations along the fenceline with Vince Kline, over the many years, helped to ground this work and see the possibilities and barriers for change. Stan Harvey, Riley Horton, and others helped in difficult times. The support of Ben Harder and Den Hill Permaculture, and all my Blacksburg friends across the world kept me grappling with this scholarly endeavor over many years. I would like to thank my partner Emily Pyne who has sacrificed much to help me finish and embraced the scholarly-activist components of my research with support and love. I owe her many thanks. iv I cannot extend enough gratitude to my friends and colleagues at Northern Arizona University who welcomed me to their campus, listened, and supported me as I was a stranger in a strange land. Thanks to Ian Wischmeier, Aaron Wiede, Jim Debusk, Briana Heisey, Kris Kurtin, Dr. Tom Carpenter, and Bernadette Gomez for extending true hospitality to me. They welcomed me into their community and provided rich scholarly resources throughout the conduct of this research. Thanks especially to Brian White. Brian was a reliable confident during our many coffee breaks at the Extended Campuses Building. Thanks to the Northern Arizona University Library for extending resources and working through my various inquiries for source material. Thanks also the students who I encountered along the way to encourage me as their advisor to continue with this work. The Upward Bound and Talent Search program office at Virginia Tech extended me many opportunities of employment and mentorship. Without this important program this work would not have been possible. This office provided me opportunities when countless applications for funding went unanswered. I am forever indebted to the many students, teachers, and staff I met along the way. Thanks especially to Director Kimberly Andrews, Jerald Neely, Joe Lyle, Sarah Umbarger-Wells, and Thenus Franklin for their support over the many years. The mentorship of Steven Dennison Smith Esquire, whose legal training and willingness to take me into the frontlines of mineral resource extraction in the United States, contributed fundamentally to this work and my scholarly development. Thanks to the many Navajo people who welcomed me to their reservation and showed me firsthand the devastation waged by coal and uranium mining on their