Living Near a Hazardous Waste Facility: Coping with Individual and Family Distress

Explored how living near a hazardous waste facility would be related to an individual's and a family's level of distress. 235 residents (aged 18-83 yrs) were interviewed. Living closer to the landfill, perceiving a risk to oneself, believing that there was a hazardous waste problem, perceiving negative changes to home and neighborhood, and lacking a choice to leave one's community were associated with greater levels of distress. Having more social support and a greater sense of community were associated with less distress, particularly family distress, and a concern about the welfare of children. As predicted, the presence of children in the home was positively associated with residents' participation in the local community organization, Citizens Asking for a Safe Environment, and with the devotion of a greater number of hours to the organization than for residents without children.