ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the evolution of work environment and environmental policies in the “Polo Petroquimico de Camaçari,” state of Bahia, Brazil. It presents the critical events, theory-driven structural as well as historical aspects, that help explain the evolution of work environment and environmental health policies. In the first few years of the complex’s operation, the internal market demand for petrochemical products was sufficient to have all plants operate at full capacity, encouraging the planning of short-term expansion in production. By 1981, however, Brazil faced a deep economic recession that significantly affected the consumption of plastics and durable goods. Firms in the complex learned early in their development that, although the bulk of their production was targeted at the Brazilian market, they had to consider foreign markets in their strategic business plans. By 1987, the Brazilian government approved the “National Petrochemical Plan,” which included an increase in capacity in Copene from 460,000 tons per year to 910,000 tons per year.
