Dependent Convergence The Struggle to Control Petrochemical Hazards in Brazil and the United States

Comparative analyses of social actors and policy outcomes in Bahia and Texas show the similarities and differences in the actors and the policies adopted in each case. As a result of historical and structural developments in Bahia and Texas, Cetrel operates under pollution-control standards and technologies for protecting the environment and workers that are similar to those of the GCA. This convergent trend is characterized as dependent convergence between developing and developed countries. The author makes recommendations for stronger international solidarity among progressive forces in developed and developing countries to promote preventive alternatives to pollution control.

Introduction CHAPTER 1. Migration of Hazards: The Viewpoint of Actors in a Newly Industrializing Country CHAPTER 2. One Industry, Two Complexes, Two Companies CHAPTER 3. Twenty Years of Petrochemical Production in Bahia CHAPTER 4. Benzeno A Vista (Benzene Ho!): The Work Environment Crises of COPEC CHAPTER 5. Environmental Management Policies in Cetrel: A Case Study of the Implementation of Pollution Control Policies in the Periphery CHAPTER 6. Environmental Management Policies in the Gulf Coast Authority: A Case Study of Pollution Control Policies in the Center CHAPTER 7. Dependent Convergence: Comparing Cetrel and GCA Histories APPENDIX 1. Research Design APPENDIX 2. The Petrochemical Industry APPENDIX 3. Time line of the History of the "Pólo PetroquÃmico de Camaçari" APPENDIX 4. CETREL S.A. Environmental Policy APPENDIX 5. Bayport Facility Industrial Users in 1997 Index

Dr. C. Eduardo Siqueira is AssociateProfessor in the School for the Environment (SFE) at UMass Boston.