Commentary on Cultural Considerations in Risk Assessment: An Ethical Responsibility

Abstract

The United States Department of Energy's (DOE) Center for Risk Excellence has been charged with developing the “Risk Plan” for the Hanford Nuclear Reservation's (Richland, WA) Groundwater/Vadose Zone Integration Project. The goal of the Integration Project is to assure the protection of water resources, the Columbia River environment, river-dependent life, and users of the Columbia River resources. Credible data and predictive analytical tools are needed to assess impacts associated with the remedial options proposed by DOE as the Department engages with regulators, Tribal Nations, and stakeholders in making cleanup decisions. Cultural risk impact assessment can be defined as part of a quality of life assessment--an assessment of the quality of our human health and environmental health. Cultural risk assessments should gauge how human health and environmental risks impact the cultures we live in and that give our lives meaning. We are making strides in the human health and ecological risk assessments that are standard to the current remediation process, but we are less clear on how to assess cultural impacts. However, to comprehensively evaluate and address the risks resulting from past and future DOE operations, we must consider the effects to cultural endpoints. To do less could be an unethical exercise of our responsibilities to assess and manage risk.

The use of cultural risk assessment within the 1994 Tribal land-grant colleges and universities

“…If a community is prevented from carrying out activities which are considered part of the identity of that community, then this is cultural impact. A significant amount of research has been carried out into cultural risk [1,11]. Some contaminated sites are of historical or Tribal value and it is important not to lose sight of that in the clean-up process, especially when monetary considerations come into play.…”

“…Tribal decision-makers and environmental regulators in tribal settings are generally ill-prepared to respond when confronted with the need to make resource management, environmental protection, and other decisions based on risk. It is generally acknowledged that conventional risk assessment and risk management methodologies do not reflect tribal values and priorities, nor do they accurately depict the unique health, environmental, and cultural risks that tribal communities face [1]. Moreover, there are very few tribal decision-makers and environmental program officials who are knowledgeable about risk, risk analysis, and risk management.…”