ABSTRACT
Nearly three decades ago, research on the location of hazardous waste landfills rattled US environmental policy institutions. This chapter describes a policy process framework that helps describe the historical intersections of toxic and hazardous waste disparities and environmental justice (EJ) policy developments in the US. It reviews a second wave of EJ research emblematic of the politics of policy formation. The chapter discusses the consolidation of policy developments in the Clinton administration, across the states, and a third wave of research on toxic and hazardous waste disparities. It describes the paradox of how EJ policy cohesion in the 2000s paradoxically weakens in some parts of the executive branch while other federal programmes revive efforts to address toxic and hazardous waste disparities. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the latest policy developments and social science advances related to toxic and hazardous waste disparities.
