Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #114568

Dianne Quigley, PhD Candidate, Religion Dept., Syracuse University, 501 Hall of Languages, Syracuse, NY 13244, 315-443-3861, diquigle@syr.edu

Communities suffering adverse health and environmental impacts from contamination often suffered these due to the weakening of a respect for the local community. From an ethical perspective, communities were often unprepared to deal with the moral conduct of corporations and other external institutions in order to receive jobs, prestige, and economic benefits. These took precedence over the fundamental need to ensure that a deep sense of community care is preserved: belonging, shared histories, social attachments, safe environments and a reinforcement of virtues of care and respect. Today, as communities struggle with contamination impacts, much energy is consumed in technical arguments about cause and effect between contamination and disease. However, there is very little organizing and community discussion over the ongoing ethical conduct of these facilities with the community. This requires the community to define itself, to build a sense of cohesion among its diverse members, to come to consensus about a shared morality with complex issues of local technological activities, to discuss how the moral conduct of polluting facilities needs to be confronted and what ethical obligations they can require of these facilities in the future.

In this presentation, I will offer reflections from sociologists, ethicists and others on strengthening the moral force of community for environmental health protection and how communities can create dialogues with external institutions about a shared morality for the health, safety and respect for the community.

Learning Objectives:

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• Participants will be given a review of sociological and philosophical literature on the weakening of community life in modernity and reflections on building community reverence in a modern, mobile, global society in the future. (
• A special focus will be given on the moral purpose of community in modern life and how the loss of community can be linked to environmental health crises. (
• Participants will be taught how certain communal ethical frameworks can assist communities in creating dialogues about a shared morality among its diverse members in dealing with science and technological activities in their settings (
• A dialogue in the session with participants will offer reflections about using this topic as an organizing strategy for protecting environmental health.

Keywords: Environmental Health Hazards, Ethics Training

Related Web page: www.researchethics.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.