Listen and learn - developing effective communications strategies to deal with communities affected by contaminated sites

As discussed in this book, there are thousands of contaminated sites in prime residential areas throughout the world. With the increased publicity on the negative impacts of contaminants on the soil environment and on human health, the social impacts of contaminated sites are becoming a serious issue within the community and regulatory bodies. Thus the management of a contaminated site can be challenging for organisations charged with the responsibility for dealing with it. There are often many diverse interests, particularly if the site is located close to a residential area. Frequently these interests may be at odds with each other but each position held may, in its own right, have some validity and the problems are never clear cut. People who discover that they are living on or near a contaminated area of land generally react strongly to such news. Their reactions vary, and to a large extent are controlled by their existing knowledge of the environmental and health impact of the particular contaminant(s) and their lack of knowledge or access to information and decision makers.