환경오염피해의 역학적 인정과정과 행위자들의 대응: 익산장점마을 비료공장 사례를 중심으로

Abstract

The case of Jangjeom Village (Iksan-si, Jeonbuk, Korea) has important meaning as it is the first case in Korea officially recognized by the government to display a mechanical relationship between environmental pollution and the non-specific disease of cancer. This case shows that the mechanical recognition process of environmental pollution damage is both a mutually confrontational scientific debate and a political and social process involving diverse agents. Damaged residents of the Jangjeom Village, with a high level of aging and low educational levels, lacked the knowledge to scientifically explain their damage as well as socio-political resources to publicize the damage. In other words, Jangjeom Village has a very low level of resilience within the community against environmental pollution damage. The low level of resilience within the community could be somewhat overcome as a governance called the public-private consultative body was established. In particular, civilian members who participated in the public-private consultative body were used as a network for mobilizing scientific knowledge along with political and social resources that the damaged residents lacked. The establishment of a public-private consultative body promoted cooperation-oriented interactions among local governments, damaged residents, and local NGOs and experts, and it secured human resources, scientific knowledge, and political and social influence to intervene in the Ministry of Environment's interpretation process of resident health impact surveys.