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Environmental politics and science: the case of PBB contamination in Michigan.

Environmental politics and science: the case of PBB contamination in Michigan. Environmental politics and science: the case of PBB contamination in Michigan. M R Reich This article examines how politics and science interacted against a background of uncertainty to shape policy in the case of environmental contamination by polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) in Michigan. In 1973, between 500 and 1,000 pounds of the flame retardant PBB were accidentally shipped and used instead of the dairy feed additive magnesium oxide, resulting in the widespread contamination of animal feeds, animals, and human food products. The contamination was initially perceived as the private trouble of a single farmer. The problem next became a public issue as public and private institutions grappled with questions of illness, safety, and disposal. To gain influence over those institutions, dissatisfied individuals and groups then turned the PBB contamination into a political controversy. The final section of the present article analyzes how science and politics interacted in: the ways bureaucratic organizations defined the three problems of contamination; the role political controversy played in redefining problems and influencing policy; and the political roles of scientists in controversies over environmental contamination. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Journal of Public Health American Public Health Association

Environmental politics and science: the case of PBB contamination in Michigan.

American Journal of Public Health , Volume 73 (3): 302 – Mar 1, 1983

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References (11)

Publisher
American Public Health Association
Copyright
Copyright © 1983 by the American Public Health Association
ISSN
0090-0036
eISSN
1541-0048
DOI
10.2105/AJPH.73.3.302
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Environmental politics and science: the case of PBB contamination in Michigan. M R Reich This article examines how politics and science interacted against a background of uncertainty to shape policy in the case of environmental contamination by polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) in Michigan. In 1973, between 500 and 1,000 pounds of the flame retardant PBB were accidentally shipped and used instead of the dairy feed additive magnesium oxide, resulting in the widespread contamination of animal feeds, animals, and human food products. The contamination was initially perceived as the private trouble of a single farmer. The problem next became a public issue as public and private institutions grappled with questions of illness, safety, and disposal. To gain influence over those institutions, dissatisfied individuals and groups then turned the PBB contamination into a political controversy. The final section of the present article analyzes how science and politics interacted in: the ways bureaucratic organizations defined the three problems of contamination; the role political controversy played in redefining problems and influencing policy; and the political roles of scientists in controversies over environmental contamination.

Journal

American Journal of Public HealthAmerican Public Health Association

Published: Mar 1, 1983

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