Evaluating the effects of living with contamination from the lens of trauma: a case study of fracking development in Alberta, Canada

July 2017 DOI: 10.1080/23251042.2017.1349638 Debra J. DavidsonDebra J. Davidson Abstract Trauma, the experience of sudden, dangerous, overwhelming events that render victims powerless, is an apt description of many experiences with toxic contamination. Toxic contamination events nonetheless often have a number of characteristics in common that render such events unique forms of trauma, including the invisibility and ambiguity of threats, an association between the threat and sources of livelihood and identity and the absence of resources necessary for resolution and recovery. While environmental sociologists tend not to analyze toxic contamination from the lens of trauma, doing so may shed important insights into such events and their human and social consequences. The current study explores the toxic contamination experienced by local residents due to nearby hydraulic fracturing activities in rural communities in southern Alberta, a conservative, upper middle class agrarian region with strong links with the oil and gas industry. Residents describe acute impacts to their health, land, livestock and loved ones, but these traumas were then exacerbated by the failure of authorities to respond in a manner expected, and the corrosion of communities. Victims experienced complete upheaval in their beliefs, and for many their experiences with contamination and fears of future exposure have come to dominate their lives. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318758000_Evaluating_the_effects_of_living_with_contamination_from_the_lens_of_trauma_a_case_study_of_fracking_development_in_Alberta_Canada