| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 公共衛生研究所 === 95 === Radio Corporation of America ( RCA), set up the factory in 1967 in Taiwan, and closed in 1992. In 1994, an ex-legislator Zhao Shao Kang revealed the case that the groundwater and soil of RCA contaminated seriously by organic solvents, such as trichloroethylene(TCE) and perchloroethylene(PCE) . After the exposition of the contamination, several former employees in RCA began to suspect the cancer related to the pollution. Then the former employees of RCA held the press conference together with Environmental Quality Protection Foundation in 1998, revealed the fact that many former employees of RCA suffered the cancer and got a lot of health problems. After the conference, the former employees established the association, RCA Worker’s Self Help Group (RCA-WSHG), to demand the relevant rights and interests of their own. According to the research of RCA-WSHG, 216 former RCA employees already had died of cancer, and 1,059 people were suffering from various kinds of cancer. Afterwards the Highest Executive Yuan in Taiwan, established the special committee of RCA problem in 1998. This special committee dealt with the contamination of RCA and the former employees who got sick with cancer. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) became the ruling party in 2000, and this special committee of RCA problem was dismissed in 2001 by DPP. The pollution of RCA is still there without elimination. Up to now, the former employees still fight for their right and compensation .They are still in carrying on the judicial lawsuit with the corporation of RCA.
All participants in RCA issues are the subjects of studying and observing. The observed time of this study is from 1965 to now. Observed object as RCA staff, civic associations, experts and scholars, by in-depth interview and the collection of the files, news for analyzing.
The result indicates that there are four factors, which are prominent in the case of social construction of RCA health problems. The four factors as follow: Activist, the social network of activists, cognitive liberation of activists and the participation of civic associations.
The social construction of RCA health problems revealed the meaning that the health problem is not only the medical and scientific problem, but also the social problem. By the outcome of the research, we observed the RCA health problems which were constructed by many kinds of forces, such as historical, political and economical. Therefore, the health problem could not be limited on the personal level, it should be put in the social structure and historical context. By this discovery, we know that the health problem could be constructed and defined by people as they want by the way of action.
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