Support for waste facility siting: differences between community leaders and residents

• Published in: Rural sociology Vol. 63; no. 1; pp. 65 - 93
• Main Authors: Spies, S. (Texas AandM University, College Station, TX.), Murdock, S.H, White, S, Krannich, R, Wulfhorst, J.D, Wrigley, K, Leistritz, F.L, Sell, R, Thompson, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.1998; Rural Sociological Society; Rural Sociological Society, etc
• Subjects: COLORADO; Communities; Community; Community Involvement; Community Leaders; Community Relations; Comparison; Decisions; DEMOGRAPHY; Economic conditions; Economic impact; ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY; Environment; Environmental policy; Environmental problems; Equity; Facilities planning; Facility Siting Disputes; Hazardous Materials; Hazardous waste disposal; Hazardous waste sites; Hazardous wastes; Hazards; Human ecology and demography; Knowledge; Knowledge Level; Leaders; Leadership; Literature Reviews; Location; MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS; Murdock, Steve; NEBRASKA; Nix, Harold; OKLAHOMA; PERCEPTION; Political leaders; Politics; Public officials; PUBLIC OPINION; Radioactive substances; Residents; RISK; Risk perception; Siting; Social Attitudes; Social Structure; Sociodemographic Factors; Sociodemographics; SOCIOECONOMICS; Sociology; STATISTICAL METHODS; Storage; SURVEYS; TEXAS; USA; UTAH; Waste; WASTE DISPOSAL; WASTE DISPOSAL SITES; Waste management; Waste management industry; Wastes; Western states; United States Of America; New York; United States > US; North Dakota; Texas; Utah; Decision Making; Regional economy; Socio-cultural Factor; Public Opinion; Health; Opposition; Equity; Implantation; Security; Environmental Protection; Pollution; Socio-demographic factor; Social Perception; Party Affiliation; Danger; Economical Management; Political leader; Wastes; Community; Social impact; Hazard
• ISSN: 0036-0112; 1549-0831
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1549-0831.1998.tb00665.x

Decisions regarding hazardous waste facility siting are now open to extensive public debate. Efforts on the part of public officials and private companies to site waste management facilities have been thwarted by public opposition. Using survey data from leaders and residents in communities which are hosting or siting facilities, this study examines their sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, levels of trust, perceptions of risk, perceptions of economic impacts, perceptions of equity issues and the differential effects of these factors on acceptance of local waste facility siting. Leaders in these communities were more supportive of local waste facility siting than were other community residents. The major determinant of leaders' acceptance of waste siting was their perceptions of the economic benefits of a facility to the community. Although this was also important to residents, perceptions of health, safety, and environmental contamination risks had larger effects on their acceptance of such facilities