Towards successful social impact assessment follow-up: a case study of psychosocial monitoring of a solid waste incinerator in the North of Portugal

Abstract

Since 1997, an extensive monitoring programme has been assessing the psychosocial impacts of the solid waste incinerator of the Oporto region of Portugal. This paper describes the theoretical psychosocial model that guided this process; this stresses the joint effect of mediating variables (environmental annoyance and risk perception) and moderating variables (attitudes towards the incinerator and local identity). The test of the model and some main developments of follow-up results are presented.