2. RISK SOCIETY
2.1. Risk in the modern society
In the following chapter I will present the theoretical framework of the study, the theory of the risk society. The objective is to connect the asbestos mining to the theory and analyse the case in its framework. Many matters affect how risk is seen and experienced and the purpose of the study is to present what kind of matters affect to the risk perception and what are the reasons behind them. Because the study proceeds in chronological order, the perception of the risk chances through time and my purpose is to find out did it chanced. The increased utilization of the environment increases the amount of risks. How the asbestos is seen or what are the motives behind the opinions affects to the level of the risk. The theory gives significance to the press; how and what it states about a risk. One area of study is the language use by laymen and experts, how their respond reflects from the risk society perspective. From the perspective of the theory, asbestos and mining of it in Paakkila is the one that is causing the risk. The purpose of the study is to present how the asbestos mining as a risk occurs on different times when the time passed and then, to analyse what reasons are on the background when the level of asbestos as a risk is lower or higher.
Throughout centuries the meaning of ‘risk’ has varied, and it has become more common in numerous cases. Change to the modern meaning of ‘risk’ happened during enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries. The era emphasized objective scientific exploration and rational thinking to understand human progress and social order where natural and social worlds can be calculated, measured and, hence predicted. The technical meaning for likelihood of a
‘risk’ can be estimated as known or knowable whereas uncertainty is applied when these likelihoods are incalculable or unknown.35 The technological development brought new risks. To control the fear of risk and to guarantee safety, new regulations were set, and risks were discussed in the public space.36
Risk can be divided into different fields such as environmental risks, economic risks, and social risks. In the context of welfare state social risks can be separated into traditional and
35 Lupton 1999, p. 5-7
36 Salmi 1997, p. 58
modern social risks. Traditional social risks have existed before the modern social security was born and the present social security is built on the basis of these risks. Traditional social risks contain illness, disability to work, industrial accident, unemployment, age and death risks which affect people for their entire life.37
Risks can be classified based on area of life they have an impact. 38 In the case of Paakkila, the question is about the environmental health risk because asbestos causes diseases and it is a social risk because the area where they live is basically unsafe at some level a long time after mine is shut down. Additionally, the cumulative impact may lead to the psychological risk that means the decrease of well-being and the ability to function decreases because of diseases and losing of a job.
From the perspective of social sciences, the risk is tied to understandings of what formulates dangers, hazards, and threats and for whom. The modern risks contain risk from chemical pollution, genetically modified organisms, and atomic radiation that cannot be perceived by humans. Therefore, it is a risk for humans until they are found out as symptoms such as cancer.39 Asbestos is a similar modern risk that cannot be perceived by humans and it materializes after the person is found out to have asbestos, mesothelioma, and lung cancer.
The concept of risk developed with an idea that there is always possibility of loss or damage.
One of the modernist views of risk is that it can be either ‘good’ or ‘bad’, however risk is used to relate exclusively to negative consequences, especially in the technical assessments of risks and more to negative rather than disastrous consequences. These two concepts create the concept of the accident. Hence, risk is a rather slack term in day-to-day language.In present western societies ‘risk’ and adjective ‘risky’ is commonly used by both experts and laymen. Research by experts has developed tools for analyzing and measuring risk: risk assessment, risk analysis, risk management, and risk communication which are used to measure and control risk as wide-ranging as public health, economics, the law, and business and the manufacturing. 40
37 Havakka 2018 p. 125
38 Kamppinen et al. 1995, p. 16
39 Barbara – van Loon 2000, p. 3
40 Lupton 1999, p. 7-9
The risk consists of two components: harm and the size and malignancy of it and the probability of materialization. From the societal perspective, the risk can stand for the wide range of impacts that can be divided on the well-being of people, the economic and environmental impacts. Even though the risk can be calculated mathematically, defining the risk relates to subjectivity. The subjectivity means that people evaluate risks in different ways and the social acceptance of the level of risk reflects the values and feeling of the people. The risk experienced is influenced by emotional aspects such as frightfulness, wrongfulness, and non-voluntariness. 41
The techno-scientific field signifies the contemporary scientific research and development.
It underlines the connection between science and technology, and it is often described endorsing the objectivity, realism and universality of science. 42 According to Lupton, the discussion about the risks in the techno-scientific field contains various aspects:
- How well risk has been known or calculated?
- What is the gravity of a risk in terms of its potential effects?
- How precise is the science that it utilized to measure and calculate risk?
- How extensive are the causal or predictive type that is created or comprehend?
- Why risks arise and what affects people’s respond of risks?
Based to the techno-scientific literature the problem between scientific, government and industrial organizations and the public relation is that public concern has become more concerned about risks and challenged the techno-scientific risk knowledge, creating the distrust towards institutions.43
Studies have discovered that there is a causal connection between closeness and people’s likeliness to be concerned about risks. A risk that is recognized to be well-known or voluntary is considered more acceptable and less likely than those that are considered new or imposed. Another characteristic of risk is that people tend to be risk reluctant when confronted with profits and risk seeking when facing negative impacts.Individuals who are susceptible to the risk that has occurred must consider that the benefits of that act will overshadow the costs. This is based on the linear relationship model between information on
41 Sitra 2002 p. 8-9
42 "Technoscience." Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Retrieved July 03.
[ https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/technoscience]
43 Lupton 1999, p.17-18
a risk, the development of an attitude of risk, and the practice of preventing the risk happening to oneself.44
The media imposes news about environment where ‘environment’ and ‘nature’ are being repeated till the limits of the bearing point. However, environmental issues are not just news among news. Increasingly, the environmental news changes from news that does not touch to reality that affects your daily life. The environmental risks can be realized in many ways, for example in Kärkölä, Järvelä was revealed that the pollutant, sawmill has directly endangered the health of the community by draining chlorophenol to the groundwater, even though by senses the surrounding environment has not changed. Clean water, the normal element of everyday life was suddenly polluted and dangerous. 45