A ‘Need-to-Know’ Basis

Within the arena of Historical Pollution, corporate and governing bodies alike often employ tactics of agnosis to deliberately confuse and obfuscate the risks posed by environmental crimes to those who stand the greatest chance of being victimized. This chapter shall analyse the specific agnotological mechanisms employed by governing bodies in New Zealand concerning the levels of pollution and the risks posed by a decommissioned legacy landfill in Houghton Bay, Wellington. These agnotological tactics include the dissemination of verifiably false information regarding the level and pervasiveness of the landfill’s pollution, information which directly contrasted the lived experiences of those residing in proximity to the landfill. Other agnotological tactics included the deliberate omission of information concerning the area’s pollution from Land Information Memorandum or (LIM) reports that are provided to first home buyers within the area, reports that are supposed to include mention of any possible source of contamination or hazardous material. Coupled with a lack of any signage alluding to the pollution, these tactics of agnosis obscured the informational landscape concerning the landfill, leaving victims in perpetual states of confusion regarding the risk of exposure to pollution. Data for this chapter was compiled by a Masters thesis investigating the Houghton Bay pollution.