Unlike legal and regulatory activities, the neighborhood inspection is a direct challenge to corporations to change the way they do business. When these bedrock issues of the workplace are addressed, management responds. The struggle for the right to know, the right to inspect, and particularly the right to negotiate has evolved from the struggles of workers and unions to establish essential rights.
Workers can be important allies and their tactics and strategies can be helpful models for action.
The regulatory process has its limitations. The real issue in every neighborhood campaign for hazardous waste cleanup, toxics use reduction, or accident prevention is the community's concern about adverse health effects. Various outside authorities can be helpful. Since all public servants are susceptible to pressure form the community, it certainly helps to find a sympathetic official or researchers who's willing to push, bend, or use the law to the best possible interest of the community. Not only does this process take a long time, but waiting for victims has obvious limitations as a prevention strategy.