The use of aggregate complaints data as an indicator of cumulative social impacts of mining: A case study from the Hunter valley,NSW, Australia

Generally speaking, there is a greater amount of quantitative data available to measure and model the cumulative environmental or economic impacts of mining than the social impacts. In part, this is because social impacts are often inherently more difficult to quantify, but historically there have also been fewer regulatory drivers for companies or state agencies to invest in collecting such data. Regulators in some jurisdictions are now starting to require resource companies to report on aspects of their social performance, but companies and regulators are still struggling to identify appropriate metrics, particularly in regards to cumulative impacts. This paper describes an innovative quantitative approach to tracking how communities experience and respond to increased mining activity, using data from the complaints registers maintained by mines located in the Upper Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia. In this study, complaints lodged with five separate mines adjacent to the township of Muswellbrook over several years were aggregated and trends analysed. The aggregated set showed that complaint frequency increased with the increase in mining activity but then decreased as individual complaints were addressed. However, when complaints from near-neighbours were removed, it emerged that the proportion of complaints that came from the town itself steadily increased over time. Further analysis indicated that this increase was closely associated with the amount of mine-disturbed land that could be seen from the town over time, as measured using a combination of remotely sensed data and a digital elevation model. This is persuasive evidence of a cumulative social impact that is more than just the sum of the local impacts of individual mines.     

Assessing health consequences in an environmental impact assessment: The case of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

In this article a comprehensive approach for the evaluation of possible health effects in an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is described, illustrated with the example of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Unlike many EIAs, we estimated quantitatively the impact of aircraft-related pollution in terms of the number of affected people for aircraft noise annoyance, odour annoyance and hypertension. In addition, an analysis of health registry data on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and a short survey on annoyance and risk perception were carried out. The scope of a health impact assessment depends on the situation, available knowledge and data, concern in the population about the impact and the number of people concerned. It is important to pay attention to the perception of risks and concerns from all parties involved. Moreover, the results demonstrate that far more people outside the area for which standards apply were affected than inside.     

The determinants of citizen complaints on environmental pollution: an empirical study from China

Using China’s environmental statistical data set for the period 2001-2006, this paper presents an extensive empirical analysis of the relationships among citizens’ environmental complaints, pollution intensities, and socio-economic characteristics. We found that exposure to harmful pollutants significantly influence people’s complaint behaviors because higher densities of chemical oxygen demand and SO₂ emissions are correlated with a higher incidence of citizen’s complaints of water pollution and air pollution, respectively. In terms of demographical variables, household income has significantly positive impacts on the likelihood of citizens lodging environmental complaints regarding air, water, and solid waste pollution. Citizens in municipality and coastal regions tend to complain more than those in interior regions. Our results support the view that environmental complaints can provide valuable information for regulators to efficiently allocate inspection resources; however, the information may be noisy since complaints are more likely to arise from wealthier and more-educated regions. In order to mitigate this problem, we argue that it may be helpful to strengthen basic education in poorer regions and to encourage environmental information disclosure for attracting more people’s attention to pollution problems. In addition, regular inspection capabilities in poor and seriously polluted regions must be enhanced for investigating regulatory violation.