Risk Perception Mapping: Using Ethnography to Define the Locally Affected Population for a Low‐Level Radioactive Waste Storage Facility in Michigan

RICHARD W. STOFFLE, MICHAEL W. TRAUGOTT, JOHN V. STONE, PAULA D. MCINTYRE, FLORENCE V. JENSEN, CARLA C. DAVIDSON

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

48 Scopus citations

Abstract

The concept of a “risk perception shadow” (RPS) has been suggested to describe the geocultural area in which a locally affected population perceives itself to be at risk from a proposed project. Generally such projects involve potentially dangerous substances or activities. The initial conceptualization of an RPS was developed during the social assessment of a proposed Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) in Michigan. This article describes an effort at mapping and analyzing an RPS produced by a proposal to site a low‐level radioactive waste (LLRW) storage facility in Michigan. A unique sampling technique was used to define the boundary of the generally concentric RPS. Risk perception mapping (RPM) is suggested as a rapid and efficient method for defining locally affected populations for social impact studies. 1991 American Anthropological Association

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)611-635
Number of pages25
JournalAmerican Anthropologist
Volume93
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1991
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Anthropology
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)

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