Vulnerability and industrial hazards in industrializing countries: an integrative approach

The extra vulnerability of industrializing countries to environmental problems and industrial accidents cannot be understood or solved by a ‘normal’ scientific analysis. Aspects of the social and institutional context must be included, through analyses based on post-normal science. The standard two-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Futures : the journal of policy, planning and futures studies Vol. 35; no. 7; pp. 717 - 736
Main Authors:	de Souza Porto, M.F., de Freitas, C.M.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-09-2003 Elsevier Science Ltd
Subjects:	Developing countries Environmental management Hazardous materials LDCs Social policy Studies
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	The extra vulnerability of industrializing countries to environmental problems and industrial accidents cannot be understood or solved by a ‘normal’ scientific analysis. Aspects of the social and institutional context must be included, through analyses based on post-normal science. The standard two-dimensional classification of PNS is modified to have axes ‘social ‘and institutional vulnerabilities’ and ‘complexity of technological hazards’. The analysis is mainly applied to the case of the relatively rare accidents with catastrophic potential. In these, the deaths per accident in India, Mexico and Brazil are much greater than in the industrialized countries. This discrepancy arises partly from location of such plants near residential communities for marginalized workers and their families. Other socio-political factors are relevant, as the role of these countries in the global production system, the enforcement of safety and planning laws, quality of housing, and lifestyle of residents. Reducing the vulnerability of industrializing countries will therefore require major social policies and a comprehension of the limits of the normal scientific and economic approaches to such problems.
ISSN:	0016-3287 1873-6378
DOI:	10.1016/S0016-3287(03)00024-7