Neutralizing state-facilitated corporate crime. An analysis of governmental framing of a case of PFAS-pollution by DuPont/Chemours Dordrecht

• In Event: EUROC 2: State-Corporate Crime

Abstract

Research on techniques of neutralization (Sykes & Matza, 1957) in white-collar and corporate crime demonstrates how both individual offenders as well as companies neutralize and rationalize committed crimes, as well as how they differ in these techniques from other types of offenders (e.g. Sutherland 1961, Cressey 1953, Coleman 1987, Benson 1985, Piquero et al 2005, Huisman 2010, Whyte 2016; Schoultz & Flyged 2020). These techniques have also been applied to human rights violations by state actors (Cohen 2009). Cohen’s analysis shows seven techniques of neutralization: the original five as developed by Sykes & Matza (1957) - denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of the victim, condemnation of the condemners, and appeals to higher loyalties - and two specifically for state actors - denial of knowledge and moral indifference.

However, the theory of neutralization techniques has not yet been studied in cases where the state is a facilitator rather than initiator of crimes, as in Kramer and Michalowski’s (2002) concept of state-facilitated corporate crime. To fill this gap, this presentation applies the lens of neutralization techniques to analyze the framing by government actors in a case of industrial pollution which has perpetuated from the 1960s until today. The case focuses on the pollution of forever chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), more specifically on PFOA- and GenX-pollution by DuPont/Chemours in Dordrecht, the Netherlands: chemical substances known for their persistence in the environment and toxicity.

This study is based on an analysis of historic and contemporary documents, interviews with government officials and observations of public events. We aim to illustrate the relevance of applying neutralization techniques to a case of state-facilitated corporate crime for understanding drivers and conditions that historically led to the perpetuation of this harmful pollution and for drawing lessons for effective governance in the future.

Authors

• Sammie Verbeek, Erasmus School of Law

• Lieselot Bisschop, Erasmus University Rotterdam

• Abby Muricho Onencan, Erasmus School of Law – Erasmus Initiative Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity

• Yogi Hendlin, Erasmus School of Philosophy