Technology-caused disasters have several special pastoral, spiritual and psychological needs that must be addressed. The first is the time frame. A technology-caused disaster is not like a tornado that is here and gone in a few minutes. Its effects linger even longer than those of a flood.

And unlike a flood or tornado, there is usually little or nothing survivors can do to clean up. From the outside, affected homes will look unchanged. There are no tree limbs to saw up, no wallboard to tear out and replace. There are only consequences that may take years, even generations, to appear or play out.

Some survivors of natural disasters talk about their anger at God, or their inability to express their anger over a "natural" event. In a technology-caused disaster, there are likely to be one or more companies or agencies that can be blamed. Having a focus for their anger and blame may help some survivors, but it may blind others to mitigating factors.

When the cause of a technology-caused disaster is a major employer in town, this can also jumble up survivors' emotions. People may fear that if they express too much anger, jobs will be lost. On the other hand, if not enough anger is generated, how will the company be held to its obligations to pay for damages, protect the community and prevent similar occurrences in the future?



Here are several populations of special concern for pastoral and other care:

Children with their smaller bodies and differing rates of metabolism are among the highest at risk groups in the presence of toxic or hazardous chemicals. As with natural disasters, children often find it difficult to express their fears and may feel responsible in some way for the disaster. Their dependence on adults to transport, clothe, feed and shelter them also leaves them vulnerable if the adults are incapacitated or preoccupied.

The elderly may already have health problems exacerbated by new exposure. Even those able to cope wth daily tasks on their own may find difficulties adjusting to new routines, new problems and different caregivers.

Pregnant women and their fetuses are of particular concern. Since mother and baby share the same circulatory system, exposure of the mother means exposure of the fetus. Nursing mothers may also pass toxins through their breast milk.

Many parents will express regret that their choice of a neighborhood or a house or even the site of a garden inadvertently exposed their children to threats.

Those with already weakened respiratory or circulatory systems may have difficulty dealing with additional stresses. Allergies or asthma may be aggravated by exposure to other irritants. Since the liver and kidneys bear the brunt of the work of filtering out toxins, those with weakened or damaged organs may have extra difficulty handling exposures that are not a problem to others.

"Sensitives" are those people who have developed mild to extreme reactions due to earlier exposures to toxins. They, too, may have much more severe and life-threatening complications as their bodies attempt to deal with more chemicals.

Those who are not literate or don't speak English as their first language may be at risk, as well. Most, if not all warnings may be broadcast or printed in English, leaving those who don't read English or understand spoken English at a disadvantage. Translators who can work with the technical or specialized terms that need to be communicated are essential. Check for students speaking other languages at your local college or university.

New immigrants are vulnerable perhaps because of language difficulties as above, but also because they may not understand the roles of the government, police and fire departments. In many places, to be visited by uniformed authorities is the greatest fear, not a source of safety information or assistance. New immigrants also may be unaware of their rights or how to access community resources.

Farmworkers must often work around pesticides and may have language problems or the same issues as new immigrants. Those who are temporarily living in the area may not have access to community resources and may leave or arrive before they are aware there is a problem.

Immuno-deficient populations , such as persons with AIDS, asthma or tuberculosis, are particularly at risk. Their immune systems and organs may already be weakened or extra sensitive to additional workloads. Asthma is frequently aggravated by any sort of chemicals in the air, and some asthma may be induced by pollution.