Environmental change from the human perspective: Thoughts after a chemical spill in Wilmington, North Carolina

Abstract:

Environmental changes are happening across the globe due to interactions between natural and human systems. As such, it is increasingly important to direct research towards understanding how people may experience and react to environmental change. Assessing human understanding of disasters is one way to approach documenting these environmental changes. Chemical technological disasters are environmental disasters that involve human influence on natural systems such as chemicals being released into a watershed. The Lower Cape Fear River located in the South Eastern portion of North Carolina went through a chemical technological disaster when harmful chemicals were released into the river. The chemicals that were released are part of a group known as Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), currently unregulated in the United States. PFASs have known health effects ranging from interfering with the body’s natural hormones, increasing cholesterol levels, weakening the immune system, and increasing risks to some cancers. The release of these unregulated chemicals in Cape Fear near the city of Wilmington, NC led to high concentrations of PFASs in regional public utility water and private wells. This NC case study intends to document how people responded to the chemical technological disaster in the Cape Fear region, and how it may affect their decisions in the future. Mixed methods will be used to demonstrate the environmental change in this region. Preliminary results show that some community members receive information dissemination and express thoughts through social media. These results were done through partnerships with community leaders. Community partnerships play a key role in gaining access to current community thoughts on the chemical spill and remediation efforts. Sustained access to water resources can be a deciding factor in whether people remain in a specific region. Documenting people’s perceptions and knowledge of water resources may offer a unique approach to understanding environmental changes.