The study examines the crisis that developed after the rupture of the Boliden mining dam in Aznalcóllar, Spain in April 1998, which had severe environmental consequences for the area surrounding the Doñana National Park. The case study draws upon minor fieldwork in Spain, in August 1998, including a visit to the affected area and extensive interviewing of crisis managers.
Emphasis is placed upon how the different Spanish political actors at the national and the regional level coped with the crisis. This is accomplished by scrutinising the decision-making and communication processes set in motion by the accident and portraying the political and cultural contexts in which these took place. Other social actors (such as various Environmental NGOs, the mass media and private individuals) were also of importance to the crisis management, and are thus taken into account in the analysis.