Economics, Experts, and Risk: Lessons from the Catastrophe at Aberfan

Abstract

In 1966, a coalwaste pile collapsed, burying and killing 144 children and other residents of Aberfan, a coalmining community in South Wales. This was a catastrophe in the precise sense in which Charles Perrow uses this term and resembled other catastrophes with which we are becoming all too familiar. The records of the investigating tribunal and interviews with community leaders conducted in 1984 reconstruct the catastrophe and its causes and suggest its enduring impact on the community. Fundamental to the catastrophe is economic need which promotes tolerance for a high-risk industry. Fundamental to the aftermath of the catastrophe are the assertion of community values and abilities and the distrust of experts making decisions for community residents.