Perceived risk of environmental threats often translates into psychological stress with a wide range of effects on health and well-being. Petrochemical industrial complexes constitute one of the sites that can cause considerable pollution and health problems. The uncertainty around emissions results in a perception of risk for citizens residing in neighboring areas, which translates into anxiety and physiological stress. In this context, social trust is a key factor in managing the perceived risk. In the case of industrial risks, it is essential to distinguish between trust in the companies that make up the industry, and trust in public institutions. In the context of a petrochemical industrial complex located in the port of Castellón (Spain), this paper primarily discusses how trust—both in the companies located in the petrochemical complex and in the public institutions—affects citizens’ health risk perception. The research findings confirm that while the trust in companies negatively affects citizens’ health risk perception, trust in public institutions does not exert a direct and significant effect. Analysis also revealed that trust in public institutions and health risk perception are essentially linked indirectly (through trust in companies).

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This research contributes to the literature on the management of firm-local community relationships in polluting industrial agglomerations. Taking as reference a previous quantitative study on residents' perceptions of economic benefits and risk in the vicinity of two Spanish petrochemical complexes (Castellón and Tarragona), the aim of this paper is to analyse how companies in the two areas have built and manage, individually and collectively, their relations with the local community, while assessing the extent to which a more committed management has resulted in a more favourable perception by the public. For this purpose, we conducted indepth interviews with managers of the main companies on the two sites. The results show different patterns of behaviour by firms in the two industrial agglomerations. Companies located in the area of Tarragona, where citizens' perceptions were more favourable, have historically been more committed to building stronger socioeconomic links with the local community and encouraging a sense of community, and to making greater efforts to engage local residents through a process of dialogue. Moreover, the existence of a collective strategy in Tarragona, coordinated through a local industry association, has also played an important role in facilitating the industry's relationship with the local community. The findings of the study suggest the need to consider the industrial agglomeration and the firms' collective actions in research on relationships with the local community alongside actions by individual companies.

Please cite this article as: López-Navarro MÁ, Llorens-Monzonís J, Tortosa-Edo V, Residents' behaviour as a function of cognitive appraisals and affective responses toward a petrochemical industrial complex, Journal of Cleaner Production (2015), doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.03.071. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT RESIDENTS' BEHAVIOUR AS A FUNCTION OF COGNITIVE APPRAISALS AND AFFECTIVE RESPONSES TOWARD A PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEXMiguel Ángel López-Navarro (