The aim of this paper is to offer a more complete view of the international debate around the exportation of occupational and environmental hazards from developed to developing countries by including the frequently forgotten issue of the importation of these hazards by developing countries. The paper will add to the debate by focusing on the role of national actors in the importation of these hazards, based on the experience of late 1970s developments in the petrochemical industry in Brazil. The Brazilian case indicates that social struggles and/or interaction among actors in developing and developed nations determine to what extent hazardous technologies are imported without environmental controls and to what extent their hazardous effects are controlled by these nations. This study also suggests that the future development of a more inclusive theory of export-import of hazardous technologies and products should take into account the dialectical relationship established between social actors internal to the exporting and importing countries.
Learning Objectives: 1) Articulate the main points proposed by a theory of the political economy of the importation and exportation of hazards 2) Identify the key social actors involved in the exportation and importation of hazards 3) Apply the theoretical framework to analyze international work environment problems and formulate policies to solve them
Keywords: Occupational Health, Environmental Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.