Technological disasters and environmental risk acceptance in Mexico City : The San Juanico gas explosion case

The metropolitan area of Mexico City is the greatest human settlement in the world with nearly 19 million inhabitants in 1987. Its urban growth has caused industries to establish within and around the city, thus increasing the risk to nearby communities. In one of these communities, known as San Juanico, a gas plant explosion occures in 1984 incurring enormous economic and social costs. One year after the disaster, a study was conducted in which 100 families living within a one kilometre radius of the explosion center were handed a questionnaire which covered sociodemographic aspects, the impact on the family in terms of human and property losses, perception of the possibility of another disaster, attribution of the causes of the disaster, and attidudes and actions in the high risk situation. The results show that in the aftermath of a disaster, people perceive their habitat as risky and believe that another disaster may occur. Even though many of them regard moving away as a means of lessening the risk, very few of them (3

) are really doing anything about it. The results are discussed in terms of principles of risk acceptance and the need to study the phenomena within a socio-cultural context.(AU)