Explaining public risk acceptance of a petrochemical complex: A delicate balance of costs, benefits, and trust

Abstract

Communities adjacent to polluting industrial facilities understand and evaluate risk in often ambivalent and contextualized ways, not only balancing economic and environmental concerns but also reflecting cultural practices, social worldviews, and trust relationships. In this case study of the Antwerp petrochemical complex, the largest in Europe, a residents’ survey and interviews are used to examine how two middle-class communities coexist with the nearby petrochemical plants. The findings show that citizens in both communities are generally aware of the environmental impact and public health risk but are predominantly accepting of the industry. For both communities, the most important factor explaining acceptance is the perceived socio-economic benefit for the community, while a direct individual benefit in terms of employment does not play a significant role. In one community, risk acceptance is further strengthened by trust in companies’ risk management, while in the other community, trust in regulators is more critical. The different results for both communities stress the importance of a socio-cultural perspective on risk and underline the criticality of relationships of trust. The article further discusses the implications of these findings for environmental decision-making, considering the delicate balance and the significant minority of the population who is less accepting. The present study adds to the risk perception literature by providing one of the first quantitative analyses explaining industrial risk acceptance, instead of perception, using the increasingly contested petrochemical industry as an exemplary case.

The tenacity of trust in petrochemical communities: Reckoning with risk on the Fawley Waterside (1997–2019)

“…A refinery was originally established on the site in 1921 by the Atlantic Gulf and West Indies (AGWI) Petroleum Company, later acquired by Esso in 1925 (Esso UK Limited, 2011). As a part of Britain's post-war recovery programme, the Fawley refinery was rebuilt and substantially expanded, to increase the country's refining capacity and reduce its dependency on the import of refined oil from the US (Sheail, 2002; Walker et al, 1998). The refinery officially reopened in September 1951 and in subsequent years expanded its capacity and range of processes and products, with additional units and plants constructed from the 1960s to the 1980s, notably the integrated expansion of petrochemicals manufacturing at the site (Esso UK Ltd, 2011).…”

“…At its peak in the 1970s, over 3000 people were employed at the refinery site (Walker et al, 1998), with most residing locally, including in small housing estates built by Esso for its workers. Although the refinery remains the largest heavy industrial employer in Hampshire (NFDC, 2019), organisational changes since the 1990s have led to a reduction in the size of the refinery workforce.…”

“…Any criticisms of industry may be considered as self-defeating in contexts in which close socio-economic ties exist between community and industry, reflecting the 'jobs-versus-environment dilemma' (Räthzel and Uzzell, 2011). In the case of the Antwerp petrochemical complex, Verbeek (2020) found that risk acceptance was underpinned by the perceived community-level socio-economic benefits of the industry in terms of employment opportunities and local investment.…”

“…Common perceptions of Esso built up in the post-war period, as a fair employer of local people and as a responsible neighbour, persisted among the older generation. The longevity and sheer familiarity of the Esso refinery has developed over decades in Fawley, evoking similarities with the unusual loyalty in industry uncovered in Ludwigshafen (Phillimore and Bell, 2005) and Antwerp (Verbeek, 2020). However, the shared heritage is not able to entirely contain risk in Fawley, with the residents found to carefully reckon with risk over time through active negotiations and assessments.…”

The role of working-class communities and the slow violence of toxic pollution in environmental health conflicts: A global perspective

“…Therefore, when evidence of slow violence surfaces, it does not imply that protests will rise. Scholars have shown that pollution and suffering are sometimes normalized and even accepted (Neumann, 2016;Verbeek, 2020). People often resign themselves to their toxic reality (Lora-Wainwright, 2017) or might not join in protest because they depend economically on the activity that makes them ill (EJAtlas, 2016c).…”