Community Resilience and Marine Oil Spills: Lessons from the Exxon Valdezand BP Deepwater Horizon Disasters

Duane A. GillDepartment of Sociology

Oklahoma State University

Liesel Ashley RitchieNatural Hazards Center

University of Colorado Boulder

Presentation at the Workshop on Building Resilient Communities: Lessons Learned from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Long Beach, MSSeptember 27, 2016

Overview

What is community resilience?

Research on societal dimensions of hazards and disasters

Documented effects of marine oil spills on communities

Key lessons from DHOS community research

Future directions

Community Resilience

“the capacity to withstand loss, the capacity to prevent a loss from occurring in the first place, and the capacity to recover from a loss if it occurs” (Buckle 2006:91).

“The term ‘resilience’ means the ability to prepare for and adapt to changing conditions and withstand and recovery rapidly from disruptions. Resilience includes the ability to withstand and recover from deliberate attacks, accidents, or naturally occurring threats or incidents” (U.S. Presidential Policy Directive PPD-21).

Community Resilience

What lessons are available from disaster research to help our communities become more resilient?

What lessons are available from research specific to community impacts of the DHOS?

Societal Dimensions of Hazards & Disasters

What we know about the social impacts of marine oil spills is situated in a longstanding body of research on societal dimensions of hazards and disasters

Societal Dimensions of Hazards & Disasters

Disaster research has revealed many lessons; particularly with respect to natural disasters

Lesson we have learned make natural hazard events more manageable and ‘normalized’

However, with respect to technological or human-caused disasters, like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, we are facing what Kai Erikson has referred to as a

“New species of trouble” that “scare human beings in new and special ways, … [and]… elicit an uncanny fear

in us.”

Buffalo Creek Flood, West Virginia (1972)

Loss of “communality” Individual and collective trauma Issues of responsibility & blame

Notable Technological Disaster Events

Three Mile Island—1979 Love Canal—1978 Bhopal, India—1985 Chernobyl, Russia—1986 Exxon Valdez oil spill—1989 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill—2010

Consider disasters —natural and technological —on a continuum, with overlapping qualities,

characteristics, and social impacts…

Disaster Events:Continuum of Deliberateness

Natural Disasters

Terrorism, Mass Shootings

Acts of GodEvents Caused by

Human Error or Recreancy

Technological Disasters

Purposeful, Premeditated Acts

Litigation

Based on Green (1982, 1996).

Lessons from Technological Disaster Research

Contested interpretations of the event

“Loss of control”

Primary responsible parties

Response is different (e.g., clean-up activities)

Social vulnerability to environmental hazards (e.g., degree of exposure, gender, age, ethnic minority status, secondary stressors, weak or deteriorating psychosocial resources)

Lessons from Technological Disaster Research

Community ties to the environment as a source of vulnerability

Invisible trauma to the natural and social environments

Secondary trauma from bureaucratic impersonality including claims, settlement, and litigation processes

Long-term adverse health outcomes

Lack of closure—chronic community impacts

“Recovery” becomes elusive

Social Impacts of Marine Oil Spills

Empirical research on marine oil spills has documented similar patterns and increased understanding of how toxic environmental contamination affects communities

This knowledge has influenced programmatic activities, including efforts employed in the Gulf Region after Katrina, Rita, and the 2010 oil spill

Research on social impacts of marine oil spills examines three interrelated impact levels: macro, middle, and micro

Macro-Level Community

Impacts• Local economic &

political structures• Occupational structures• Fiscal revenue streams• Social services• Social capital• Demographic

structures• Community

infrastructure

Middle-Range Community

Impacts• Community attachment• Social disruption• Cultural practices• Exposure &

experiences• Perceptions of risk• Beliefs about blame &

responsibility• Ties to resources• Resource loss & gain,

as well as threats to resources

• Individual & collective stress

• Boomtown effect• Compensation

processes• Chronic

Micro-Level Community

Impacts• Psychological stress• Substance abuse• Domestic violence• Dysfunctional

behaviors• Suicide

Social Impacts of Marine Oil Spills

Key Lessons: Psychosocial Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Early studies revealed heightened levels of stress and depression

Additional research showed:

- Harmful mental health impacts, behavioral effects, and social disruption related to the disaster

- Strong relationships between elevated levels of anxiety, stress, and depression, and concerns about spill-related economic impacts

- Individuals with high levels of community attachment experienced decreased stress, as well as apprehension about community well-being

Key Lessons: Psychosocial Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Comparative studies of the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon spills revealed similar psychosocial impacts among a sample of residents from Cordova, Alaska and a sample of residents from coastal Alabama after their respective oil spill disasters began

The strongest predictors of stress in coastal Alabama were:

- Concerns about family health and economic future

- Economic loss

- Connections to renewable resources

- Exposure to the oil

Key Lessons: Psychosocial Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Involvement in compensation and litigation processes creates significantly higher levels of stress compared to those not involved

Greater levels of community attachment is linked to lower levels of negative mental and physical health impacts

Future Directions

Focus on preparedness and awareness—understanding and communicating risk in local and regional contexts

Emphasize inclusion of local knowledge in all phases of disaster—preparedness, response, recovery & mitigation

Actively seek civic engagement and develop effective, inclusive community processes in prevention, response, and mitigation activities

Future Directions

Increase understanding about how specific mitigation, preparedness, response, and compensation processes affect community resilience and long-term recovery prospects

Evaluate the effectiveness of programs and activities related to oil spill prevention, preparedness, response, recovery & mitigation

Include marine oil spill research in broad-based community resilience efforts

Selected References

Gill, Duane A., J. Steven Picou and Liesel A. Ritchie. 2012. “The Exxon Valdez and BP oil spills: A comparison of initial social and psychological impacts.” American Behavioral Scientist 56(1):3-23.

Gill, Duane A., Liesel A. Ritchie. J. Steven Picou, J. Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Michael A. Long, and J.W. Shenesey. 2014. “The Exxon and BP Oil Spills: A Comparison of Psychosocial Impacts.” Nat. Hazards. (DOI) 10.1007/s11069-014-1280-7.

Gill, Duane A., Liesel A. Ritchie. J. Steven Picou. 2016. “Sociocultural and Psychosocial Impacts of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Twenty-four Years of Research on Cordova, Alaska. Extractive Industries and Society. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2016.09.004

Picou, J. Steven, Duane A. Gill, and Maurie Cohen (eds.). 1997. The Exxon Valdez Disaster: Readings on a Modern Social Problem. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt.

Picou, J. Steven, Brent K. Marshall, and Duane A. Gill. 2004. “Disaster, Litigation and the Corrosive Community.” Soc. Forces 82(4):1448-82.

Ritchie, Liesel A., Duane A. Gill and J. Steven Picou. 2011. “The BP Disaster as an Exxon ValdezRerun.” Contexts 11(1):30-35.