Dioxins: An Easy Problem to Solve or a Hard-Fought Battle for the Environment? a Case Study of How and Why the Pulp and Paper Industry in Sweden Transitioned Away From Chlorine-Bleaching
(2023) SOCM04 20231Department of Sociology
Sociology
- Abstract
- The situation for the environment is in many ways dire. However, amidst all the negative environmental developments it is easy to neglect the successes that have actually happened. With the aim of better understanding what factors facilitated such a success this thesis analyses one such case, namely emissions of dioxins and chlorinated waste from the pulp and paper industry in Sweden. Dioxins were discovered in the wastewater from mills in the mid-1980s and in the span of just a few years emissions were drastically reduced to the point of becoming a non-issue. Using a single case study design this thesis analysis this case using middle-range theorizations of the Treadmill of Production and Ecological Modernization Theory, both prominent... (More)
- The situation for the environment is in many ways dire. However, amidst all the negative environmental developments it is easy to neglect the successes that have actually happened. With the aim of better understanding what factors facilitated such a success this thesis analyses one such case, namely emissions of dioxins and chlorinated waste from the pulp and paper industry in Sweden. Dioxins were discovered in the wastewater from mills in the mid-1980s and in the span of just a few years emissions were drastically reduced to the point of becoming a non-issue. Using a single case study design this thesis analysis this case using middle-range theorizations of the Treadmill of Production and Ecological Modernization Theory, both prominent theories from environmental sociology most frequently thought of as macro-theories. Two methods were utilized to examine the case: expert interviews, and qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles. The findings suggest that regulation, and the regulatory style of Sweden, which eschews national regulation in lieu of actor-by-actor regulation, played important roles in creating the conditions for transitioning and as drivers in the early stages of transitioning, which is also supported by previous research on the topic. Regulation as a main driver was later replaced by consumer pressure, both in Sweden and in export markets, which demanded chlorine-free products in part based on fears of dioxin contamination of the products. The power of citizens was found to have been crucial in reaching a positive outcome. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- The situation for the environment is in many ways dire. However, amidst all the negative environmental developments it is easy to miss out on the successes that have actually happened. Hoping that there are potential lessons to be learned from how earlier environmental problems have been more or less solved this project examines one such case of success. The problem selected as the focus of this research project is that of dioxins and chlorinated waste emissions from the pulp and paper industry in Sweden. Dioxin is the group name of a family of environmental toxins that are byproducts of certain industrial processes, such as the chlorine-bleaching of pulp and paper; and chlorinated waste is a measurement of the chlorine-related waste... (More)
- The situation for the environment is in many ways dire. However, amidst all the negative environmental developments it is easy to miss out on the successes that have actually happened. Hoping that there are potential lessons to be learned from how earlier environmental problems have been more or less solved this project examines one such case of success. The problem selected as the focus of this research project is that of dioxins and chlorinated waste emissions from the pulp and paper industry in Sweden. Dioxin is the group name of a family of environmental toxins that are byproducts of certain industrial processes, such as the chlorine-bleaching of pulp and paper; and chlorinated waste is a measurement of the chlorine-related waste emitted which is essentially a proxy for dioxins as this is both difficult and expensive to measure. This problem was discovered in the mid-1980s and in the span of only a few years, emissions of dioxins and of chlorinated waste in general from the pulp and paper industry were reduced to such a degree that it was turned into a non-issue. In other words, the problem had successfully been solved.
This project aims to gain an in-depth understanding of exactly how this problem was solved by looking at underlying social, economic, and political factors. The approach to this was by conducting interviews with experts from different perspectives of the matter who were actively working on the issue when it was a hot topic, and analyzing newspaper articles also from the relevant time frame. After analyzing this material the results show that the unique regulatory style of Sweden, where each pulp mill was given its own emission permits instead of country-wide limits, was very important in creating the conditions that would foster change. Another important factor was the cooperation within the industry and between the industry and government agencies to solve the problem. But most importantly there was substantial pressure from consumers who did not want to buy products made using chlorine-bleaching based on fear of dioxins, both in Sweden and in export markets. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9132587
- author
- Aronsson, Marcus LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SOCM04 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- environmental sociology, ecological modernization, treadmill of production, middle-range, industrial transition
- language
- English
- id
- 9132587
- date added to LUP
- 2023-07-06 16:46:03
- date last changed
- 2023-07-06 16:46:03
@misc{9132587,
abstract = {{The situation for the environment is in many ways dire. However, amidst all the negative environmental developments it is easy to neglect the successes that have actually happened. With the aim of better understanding what factors facilitated such a success this thesis analyses one such case, namely emissions of dioxins and chlorinated waste from the pulp and paper industry in Sweden. Dioxins were discovered in the wastewater from mills in the mid-1980s and in the span of just a few years emissions were drastically reduced to the point of becoming a non-issue. Using a single case study design this thesis analysis this case using middle-range theorizations of the Treadmill of Production and Ecological Modernization Theory, both prominent theories from environmental sociology most frequently thought of as macro-theories. Two methods were utilized to examine the case: expert interviews, and qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles. The findings suggest that regulation, and the regulatory style of Sweden, which eschews national regulation in lieu of actor-by-actor regulation, played important roles in creating the conditions for transitioning and as drivers in the early stages of transitioning, which is also supported by previous research on the topic. Regulation as a main driver was later replaced by consumer pressure, both in Sweden and in export markets, which demanded chlorine-free products in part based on fears of dioxin contamination of the products. The power of citizens was found to have been crucial in reaching a positive outcome.}},
author = {{Aronsson, Marcus}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Dioxins: An Easy Problem to Solve or a Hard-Fought Battle for the Environment? a Case Study of How and Why the Pulp and Paper Industry in Sweden Transitioned Away From Chlorine-Bleaching}},
year = {{2023}},
}