Abstract:
Drawing on data attained through Freedom of Information Act requests to the United States Environmental Protection Agency two main points are illustrated: First, even in countries with stable regulatory structures (such as Canada and the United States), data on the transfer of hazardous materials is unevenly collected and rarely analyzed. Second, even when the best available data are collected and analyzed, a high degree of uncertainty remains. Attempts to overcome these problems through a current research project that visualizes this newly-created data, while also alerting us to remaining inconsistencies and uncertainties is discussed.

Bio

Sarah A. Moore is assistant professor of Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on the political economy and regulation of hazardous waste trading in North America on which she has published in journals such as Progress in Human Geography and The Professional Geographer. With Paul Robbins and John Hintz, she is author of Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction.