Emergence of interest groups on hazardous waste siting: How do they form and survive?

The disposal and siting of hazardous and radioactive wastes has created numerous problems for decision-makers in the field of waste management. The social/political problems have proven to be some of the most difficult to solve. Public knowledge of the presence of hazardous and radioactive waste sites has grown considerably in recent years. Over the same period, the process of choosing new disposal sites has attracted a great deal of publicity. In many cases, when existing sites are discovered or when a community is being considered for a new disposal site, organized groups emerge in the community to support or oppose the proposed actions and the decision-makers responsible.