Olga Kuchinskaya
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262027694
- eISBN:
- 9780262325417
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262027694.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Science, Technology and Environment
Before Fukushima, the most notorious large-scale nuclear accident the world had seen was Chernobyl in 1986. The fallout from Chernobyl covered vast areas in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in ...
More
Before Fukushima, the most notorious large-scale nuclear accident the world had seen was Chernobyl in 1986. The fallout from Chernobyl covered vast areas in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in Europe. Belarus, at the time a Soviet republic, suffered heavily: nearly a quarter of its territory was covered with long-lasting radionuclides. Yet the damage from the massive fallout was largely imperceptible; contaminated communities looked exactly like non-contaminated ones. It could only be known through constructed representations of it. The book explores how we know what we know about Chernobyl, describing how the consequences of a nuclear accident were made invisible. The analysis sheds valuable light on how we deal with other modern hazards—toxins or global warming—that are largely imperceptible to the human senses. The book describes the production of invisibility of Chernobyl’s consequences in Belarus—practices that limit public attention to radiation and make its health effects impossible to observe. Just as mitigating radiological contamination requires infrastructural solutions, the production of invisibility also involves infrastructural efforts, from categorical work of redefining the scope and nature of the accident’s consequences to reshaping infrastructures for research and radiation protection. The book finds historical fluctuations in recognition, tracing varyingly successful efforts to conceal or reveal Chernobyl’s consequences at different levels—among affected populations, scientists, government, media, and international organizations. The production of invisibility, the book argues, is a function of power relations.Less
Before Fukushima, the most notorious large-scale nuclear accident the world had seen was Chernobyl in 1986. The fallout from Chernobyl covered vast areas in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in Europe. Belarus, at the time a Soviet republic, suffered heavily: nearly a quarter of its territory was covered with long-lasting radionuclides. Yet the damage from the massive fallout was largely imperceptible; contaminated communities looked exactly like non-contaminated ones. It could only be known through constructed representations of it. The book explores how we know what we know about Chernobyl, describing how the consequences of a nuclear accident were made invisible. The analysis sheds valuable light on how we deal with other modern hazards—toxins or global warming—that are largely imperceptible to the human senses. The book describes the production of invisibility of Chernobyl’s consequences in Belarus—practices that limit public attention to radiation and make its health effects impossible to observe. Just as mitigating radiological contamination requires infrastructural solutions, the production of invisibility also involves infrastructural efforts, from categorical work of redefining the scope and nature of the accident’s consequences to reshaping infrastructures for research and radiation protection. The book finds historical fluctuations in recognition, tracing varyingly successful efforts to conceal or reveal Chernobyl’s consequences at different levels—among affected populations, scientists, government, media, and international organizations. The production of invisibility, the book argues, is a function of power relations.
Olga Kuchinskaya
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262027694
- eISBN:
- 9780262325417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262027694.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Science, Technology and Environment
The introductory chapter explains the problem of post-Chernobyl contamination, which is described as chronic, pervasive, and imperceptible, and outlines how the recognition of Chernobyl’s ...
More
The introductory chapter explains the problem of post-Chernobyl contamination, which is described as chronic, pervasive, and imperceptible, and outlines how the recognition of Chernobyl’s consequences in Belarus fluctuated historically. The chapter introduces the concept of the production of (in)visibility of Chernobyl’s consequences: different ways of representing Chernobyl can make radiation and its effects observable and publicly visible, or they can make them unobservable and publicly nonexistent. Articulation and its infrastructural conditions are emphasized as the main aspects in the production of (in)visibility. The chapter also discusses the potential scale of the production of invisibility and argues that the production of invisibility is a function of power relations. The chapter concludes with a brief description of the author’s methodological approach and a chapter outline.Less
The introductory chapter explains the problem of post-Chernobyl contamination, which is described as chronic, pervasive, and imperceptible, and outlines how the recognition of Chernobyl’s consequences in Belarus fluctuated historically. The chapter introduces the concept of the production of (in)visibility of Chernobyl’s consequences: different ways of representing Chernobyl can make radiation and its effects observable and publicly visible, or they can make them unobservable and publicly nonexistent. Articulation and its infrastructural conditions are emphasized as the main aspects in the production of (in)visibility. The chapter also discusses the potential scale of the production of invisibility and argues that the production of invisibility is a function of power relations. The chapter concludes with a brief description of the author’s methodological approach and a chapter outline.
