Based on detailed research funded across two continents and involving universities in Argentina, Spain and the UK, this book sets out an innovative, multidisciplinary approach to assessing both environmental and social risks in a given territorial area. Using data from a number of Ibero-American nations, the study combines environmental, socio-economic and geographic factors to construct a set of spatial and technical indicators that measure the social vulnerability and industrial hazardousness of a defined area. Aggregating these indicators in a geographic information system (GIS) allows researchers to assess the potential risk to which a certain area and its population are subject as a result of the environmental deterioration caused by co-located industrial activity.

Foreword.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Evaluating the Firms Environmental Risk: A Conceptual Framework.- 3. Statistical Information For the Analysis of Social Vulnerability in Latin America - Comparison With Spain.- 4. Evaluating the Firms Environmental Hazard: Methodology.- 5. The Case of Bolivia.- 6. The Case Of Argentina.- 7. The Case Of Spain.- 8. Concluding Remarks.- Index.