Abstract:
The paper examines the rise of environmental justice
issues in Australia, evident in two toxic disputes; the first,
in a Perth outer suburb in Western Australia where residents
faced both a hazardous waste dump and the nation's
biggest chemical fire; and the second, in the Sydney
suburb of Botany where residents were confronted with
the destruction of what is thought to be, the world's
largest stockpile of hazardous hexachlorobenzene (RCB)
waste. The paper reviews the range of factors that
impacted the local communities' fight for environmental
justice. It explores the limitations of risk assessment and
risk-based policies, as well as the problematic role of the
expert and the communication of risk. The informational
inequity and resource disparities so evident in toxic disputes
are highlighted. The case studies confirmed the
inequitable distribution of chemical risk as a failure to
secure environmental justice for all Australians.
