Too many questions, too few answers: Understanding the role of uncertainty in coping with a slow-motion technological disaster

Background: Widespread amphibole-asbestos exposure in Libby, Montana created what EPA called the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history (>300 deaths; hundreds with asbestos-related disease (ARD). Like Love Canal, Libby represents “a different kind of disaster” (Levine, 1982). Slow-motion technological disasters (SMTDs) are characterized by slow-onset and lengthy indeterminate duration. Significance: SMTDs are on the rise. Nearly half of the U.S. population lives within a 10-mile radius of designated/proposed Superfund sites. Current community/agency disaster-response models based on rapid-onset disasters do not apply well to SMTDs. Little is known about factors mitigating/exacerbating psychosocial responses to SMTDs. Communication theory and research suggest that uncertainty plays a key role in victims' responses: managing uncertainty is critical to efficacious coping methods. Purpose: Guided by Problematic Integration Theory (PI; Babrow), we investigated the nature, sources, and dynamics of uncertainty and its management among Libby, MT residents and associated psychosocial responses. Methods: Nine focus groups and five interviews (n = 71) were conducted in Libby with people with ARD, family members of people with ARD, and people with no ARD in their families. Results: Communication surrounding the disaster is characterized by rampant and dynamic uncertainty across a wide array of sources (e.g., agencies, media, community members) and issues (e.g., disease causes/progression, disaster's magnitude, current children's safety). Attempts to manage uncertainty create new uncertainties. Residents' uncertainty experiences are associated with particular disaster-related coping methods and resulting psychosocial outcomes. Conclusion: Understanding the sources, dynamics of uncertainty and its management in SMTDs may facilitate more effective community/agency responses to SMTDs.