This study will use qualitative field methods (including participant observation) for data collection to generate some hypothesized relationships between the stress of a dirty work occupation, the resultant pathology in mental, physical, and social terms, and the possible mediation of such factors as the ownership stake in the dirty work organization. The occupation to be studied is that of the garbage collector. Interviews and intensive field observations will be conducted at several urban sites to provide a range of ownership circumstances under which the work is performed. Sites to be studied include those in which garbage collection is carried out by a municipal department; by private conventional businesses contracting with municipalities; and by a cooperative corporation, worker-owned, contracting with a municipality. The study will produce, in addition to research reports, a design for the quantitative test of the hypothesized relationships. Currently, the central hypothesis (which may be reformulated in the course of the study) is that the pathological sequelae of the stress associated with dirty work occupations will be less among those working who have an ownership stake.