In 1999 more than 7 billion pounds of toxic chemicals were released into the environment by industrial facilities in the United States. This was the emitted component of more than 29 billion pounds of production-related waste generated by industrial firms reporting to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) (Environmental Defense, 2001). The monitoring and regulating of hazardous industrial emissions and waste-disposal activities are elements in a series of federal mandates to manage technological risks, protect the public, and mitigate environmental impacts. Nevertheless, the adequacy of these efforts, especially as they are implemented at the local level, has been repeatedly challenged by grassroots citizen groups concerned about health and environmental

This paper examines several dimensions of public opposition to the proposed siting of the high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. In order to provide a context for the public's views of the repository in metropolitan Clark County, both governmental studies of the repository siting process are analyzed, as well as elements of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. This analysis suggests that one potentially key component of the public's opposition to the siting, as well as their perceptions of risk of the facility, may be the result of a lack of trust in the Department of Energy. Empirical analysis of survey data collected in Nevada in 1988 confirms the strong relationship between political trust and repository risk perceptions. Copyright 1991 by The Policy Studies Organization.

Past research indicates a dismal success rate in the siting of hazardous-waste management facilities, The observation that some facilities have been sited, however, suggests that the siting of these locally unwanted environmental facilities may not be an intractable problem, In this paper, based on a national survey of state siting attempts over the past decade, the strategies adopted by states and the factors and combination of factors associated with the few successful outcomes arc examined. The data indicate that public trust (especially in the facility developer), early and continuous public involvement in the facility siting process, and an adaptive strategy that involves incorporating citizens' concerns into siting and operation decisions arc associated with a higher likelihood of siting success.

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