Keywords: 
• small and medium chemical enterprise /
• environmental risk /
• public perception /
• risk management

Abstract: In the chemical industry, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can generate social and economic benefits to the local government. However, SMEs can also be an obstacle to local sustainable development because they may cause severe environmental risks to the local environment and residents living adjacent to the SMEs. In China, risk management of chemical SMEs has however not been well explored from a public perspective. Using face-to-face surveys, this thesis aims to investigate public perception towards environmental risks and management of local chemical SMEs, and to analyze the main factors affecting public risk perception in X County, Hebei Province (N=550). The results indicate that only 10.9% of the respondents knew about the pollution prevention measures undertaken by the chemical SMEs and its environmental management, and that only 7.5% of respondents knew about the county Environmental Protection Bureau's and the government's environmental supervision. About 64% of the respondents thought that the local environmental quality was deteriorating after the chemical SMEs started operation. According to the respondents, the chemical SMEs bring more threats to environmental quality and human health than social and economic benefits. Spearman correlation analyses show that respondents with different levels of education, household annual income, and living experiences have significant differences in their risk perceptions. Based on the analyses, three aspects to improve risk management are further discussed including 1) environmental information disclosure by the government and the chemical SMEs; 2) control over pollutant emissions of the chemical SMEs; and 3) risk communication among the local government, the chemical SMEs, and the public.