This field research was conducted at six toxic waste contamination sites, in both the United States and Canada, designated as areas of concern by the International Joint Commission. The study argues that the effectiveness of the “control capacity”; of industry is increased to the extent that communities are (or perceive themselves to be) dependent on a given industry and that this economic and political leverage is further increased in economically peripheral regions. The data also indicate that although initially economic decline increases local resistance to environmental protection, a sustained economic downturn tends to reduce industrial control capacity and increase local receptivity to alteration of industrial processes and policies.