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More EPA messing with your mind
REILLY-GATE?
CCHW received documents showing a pattern of collu- sion and
conspiracy, Watergate-style, by EPA head Wm. Reilly, Nat'l Wildlife
Federation head Jay Hair and Dean Buntrock, head of Waste Management. It
started last spring when Reilly reopened EPA's case ag- ainst No.
Carolina for blocking new hazwaste sites. The case was closed in the
Reagan Admin.'s final days after protests from Congress and
environmentalists. Two sets of criminal allegations were filed against
Reilly by senior EPA officials, Wm. Sanjour and Hugh Kaufman char- ging
him with improper, if not illegal, conduct in revers- ing EPA policy
after being lobbied by Dean Buntrock. Details in CCHW's EVERYONE'S
BACKYARD (Fall, '89).
Sanjour & Kaufman's 2nd complaint charges EPA's Inspector General took
their 1st complaint right to Reilly and alleg- edly helped him devise a
coverup. The IG delayed official investigations for 41 days. Key wit-
nesses then gave cover stories contradicting documentary evidence.
Documents feature Nat'l Wildlife head Jay Hair's role in the scandal.
CCHW has a copy of Hair's handwritten note to Reilly jotted below a news
story on SC refusing to take other state's hazwaste. Hair wrote:
"Bill---If at all possible I would like to arrange a breakfast meeting
with you, Dean Buntrock (Chairman/ CEO, Waste Mgt. Inc. and member of NWF
Board) and myself to discuss national implication of above situation AND
for you to get to know Dean better. How 'bout Breakfast March 16-March
17, Crystal Gate- way Marriott, Arlington (site of our Annual meeting),
Thanks, Jay." Also in the evidence is a typed agenda listing a series of
"capacity assurance" issues and a 126-pg briefing file. Reilly told the
Wins- ton-Salem Journal on 4/21/89 he decided to go after NC because of
that meeting. But when Reilly, Hair and Bunt- rock were questioned by
Inspector General staff, they de- nied talking about ANY of these issues.
EPA's IG thus con- cluded there was no wrongdoing, documents to the con-
trary and closed the case. This prompted Sanjour & Kauf- man to file
their 2nd of criminal allegations. Since EPA's Inspector General seems
part of the cabal, justice may have to come from outside, maybe in the
form of a Spec- ial Prosecutor. But this incident could end Reilly's
honey moon with media and environmental groups who applauded the 1st
"professional environmentalist" chief of EPA.
GRASSROOTS CONVENTION '89
We're still counting the number of grassroots leaders who came to
Grassroots Convention '89 on Oct 6-8, since it was twice the number we
expected. Approx. 1000 leaders from around the world assembled to cele-
brate the growth, power and victories of the Grassroots Movement for
Environmental Justice. Convention dele- gates also worked in issue groups
to develop a series of ideas for actions for the Movement to consider
over the next few years. Since this is ACTION BULLETIN, you'll see the
Call for Action in a special section in this issue. Stories, pictures and
more details will appear in the Christmas Issue of EVERYONE'S BACKYARD.
NO LOVE CANAL RESETTLEMENT--YET
Thousands of you wrote letters to Gov. Mario Cuomo and EPA chief Wm.
Reilly to protest plans to rename Love Canal the "Sunrise City" and move
low-income people into homes on the still-contaminated site. Greenpeace's
can- vasser's, without even being asked, collected hundreds of letters
[our warmest thanks to Greenpeace].
We're proud to report that they made a difference. Here's what we
did with your letters. On Sept. 15, CCHW, Greenpeace, NY Toxics Coalition
and allies rallied nearly 500 people at Governor Mario Cuomo's mansion in Albany. Your letters were on the same red ribbon that was used at Love Canal during the 1978-80 fight as a symbol. WhileCoohdot in his mansion, we conducted a candle light vigil outside and strung the letter-laden ibononth wouht iron fence. Then on Oct. 7, a high point at Grassroots Convention '89 was a simlarribon/ettr pesetation to EPA's Lew Crampton, who represented Wm. Reilly (who has his own prblem).
Where do things stand? We're still sending your letters on to Cuomo and Reilly, who have yet to officially. However, the resettlement plan appeared to be on indefinite hold. Another rally wl aepae Nov. 12 at Love Canal itself.
CCHW NEWS
For 6 years, our home office has been in the "Roach Motel," a low-rent, somewhat ragged building5 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington. Because we're near a subway stop, office high-rise development ha engigon around us for years and we've known it was only a matter of time before we got evicte. wie efre w've asked you to give to our "Shelter Fund" for the eventual day when we were to b gien he oot OnOct 1, that day came. By April 1, we must be out of the Roach Motel so a parkin garge cn bebuil. Evn whn you know it's coming, it's still a shock. Due to your past generosit, we ave sme moey se asid for ew quarters. But what we'd like to do is secure a permanent homeand ths willtake mga-bucs, whih needess to say, we don't have lying in the bank. In the next cuple ofweeks, ou'll b gettin a specal appel to help us secure a permanent home for CCHW, YOUR enter fo environental jutice. I ope you ill watc for this mailing and do all you can to help.--Lois Gibs.
NEW STAFF: I'm also pleased to introduce three new staff members. ROBBIN LEE ZEFF will be working iome office to help with fundraising and with the new Community Leadership Development traininggatporm that offers mini-grants for training to volunteer groups in the Movement for Environmeta Jstce Se he special section in this Action Bulletin with info on how to apply. Even if you'e nt icororaed r hve never sought grants before, you're eligible to apply---in fact, we'll eve hel youthrogh te prcessso you can learn from the experience and I urge you to do so.
To fill the vacancy in our Appalachian Field Office, we've hired both DIANA STECK in SW Penn. anCASTELLI in SW Virginia. They, also with SALLY TEETS, who's been covering the region in Linda ed' bece with basically provide triple coverage to this vital part of the country. Diana is wel non o eolein Western PA as the veteran leader who's led Concerned Residents of the Yough in uko, P an hepedfoud the Penn. Environmental Network. Pete was an organizer in So. VA with SoutsideConcrnedCitiens nd ten went on to co-found and direct the GA Environmental Project. Both Pte an Dian are kille, expriencd folks and natives of the region. See office list on the back pge of his isue foraddreses andphone umbers.
Finally, THIS IS YOUR LAST ACTION BULLETIN!
Starting with the first issue of 1990, ACTION BULLETIN and EVERYONE'S BACKYARD will be combined int magazine format and will come to you 6 times a year. For years, we've struggled with such nesetrpo- lems as a rapidly growing list and mushrooming costs. Yet, the Movement also keeps groin ad akngmoe news. In past years, we've sent you Action Bulletin and Everyone's Backyard quarerl, 8isses yer. pace constraints and time lags have been a constant headache: how do we giveyou LL te nes tht's it t use and do it in a timely way, while spending your membership mon- eywell?The aswer s to ombin the wo newsletters and put them out more often than either one alone This ay, wesave mmbers'money ND getyou the news more rapidly. Since we will carry all the bes aspect of bot newsleters inall sixissues f the NEW Everyone's Backyard, you'll actually get mre!. Furher, aftr we sureyed ourreadship we're ging ahead with accepting advertising from ethial companes as anoher way t make thenew Everyne's Backard magazine self-sufficient.We'll be wecoming you comments n the new ormat and ope you'lllike it!
EXXON UPDATE
Exxon declared victory and ended its version of cleanup in Prince Wm. Sound, Alaska. Exxon head Lawawl claims EXXON's public image is untainted, despite the outrage over the 10.9M gal spill. "Pol elz that accidents can happen." But, the boycott called against Exxon is working. By Septemer 4,00 reitcards had been returned to Exxon in protest. Exxon named the promised "environmentlis" t it Bord.Beleve it or not (see story, p. 1) many environmentalists had been pushing NWF' JayHair ButExxo piced D. John H. Stede, a marine scientist from the Woods Hole Oceano- graphi Insttute ho wa quicly atackedby environ- mentalists who wanted a strong advocate. Brent Black welde (FOE/PI): "t's anoutrag....its not what we understood by the appointment of an environmntalist" Sted says h isn't n "envionmentaist" at all: "I think the term environmentalist has oo many oliticalimplicatons....Ihave notbeen invlved in advocacy on either side of these issue."
WMI BURNER NIXED
Waste Management's Chicago
hazwaste incinerator was denied an operating license by IL-EPA, citing 96 deficiencies in their perlication, including hazards in their waste storage and burning practices. Further, WMI hasn't e sd nugh money to cover eventual cleanup needs. In the last AB, we reported a record $4.5M fie gans WI orthis facility by USEPA. The site remains open while WMI appeals.
Polluter Group Grant Cancelled
EPA was forced to cancel the community Technical Assistance Grant it made to a Jacksonville, Ark. gat is allegedly funded and run by the polluters at the Superfund site they sought the grant toades CW uncovered documents in the Dallas EPA Regional Office that showed EPA knew the group ws pllte fon, but instead of rejecting the application outright, advised the group on how to cverp teirpolute afiliations. When FBI investigations began on the grant, EPA decided to cancelthe rant rater tan rsk awidening scandal.
ACTION ON STYROFOAM
McDonald's showed its first serious dip in US sales in years---1% overall and 5% if you factor in mrger price cutting. Only thru sale of assets could McDs show a 2nd quarter profit. CCHW's McToisCmag to get McD's to stop using styrotrash surely didn't help McDs profit picture.
McD's stills says the answer to its trash problem is to "recycle" styrofoam. One way McD's "recycleo burn it in mini-incinerators behind its restaurants. McDs calls them (no joke) "Archie McPufs"Teohr is to claim its styrofoam can be recycled in a multi-million dollar white elephant recclng pan i spports in Brooklyn, run by Amoco.
But even the plastics industry takes a dim view of styrofoam's recycling potential. The industry readopted a "Recycling Rating System" by the Society of Plastics Industries. Many plastic contaiesnwba triangle symbol with a rating of 1 thru 7 of recycling potential. "1" means highest levl f reycabe lastic. Polystyrene (AKA "styrofoam") gets 2nd-worst rating of "6." "7," lowest rakin, dscrbesallothrs."
McD's also hired League of Women Voters prime "expert" on toxics, Dana Duxbury of Mass. Duxbury's cng firm, Dana Duxbury & Assoc., will run sem- inars for McDs starting in NH, to promote McD's mg sagod corporate citizen. In 1986, Duxbury drew a firestorm of criticism when she convinced heMas.LW t opose a ballot initiative giving people greater rights to information about toxic stesandmanatig pomp toxic cleanup action by the state. This initiative was supported by nearly verycitiens'grou in ass. except LWV, and passed by a 6-1 margin. Allegations were made that Dubury as moivate by sbstanial cntributions from the chemical industry. McD's is also looking fo an enironmetal grup to und tht willconduct an Earth Day program for kids under their sponsorsip.
First Things First:
Why
Not Ride
the Bus?
On a positive note, Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan issued an order banning the use of styrofoam ession at all Nat'l Parks.
The most effective actions on styrofoam remain:
1. Protest at McDs and other food outlets using styrofoam, including return of "recyclable" styro
2. Work for local ordinances banning wasteful food packaging.
3. Get local institutions (churches, schools and businesses) to stop using styrofoam.
4. Practice what you preach and use only environmentally sound materials yourself.
WHY?
The Washington Post reports the League of Women Voters was given a $274,000 contract by the Dept of in 1987 to conduct informational programs aimed at winning public acceptance for the construcino e,low-level radwaste dumps.
Houk Disappointed
The Incredible Dr. Vernon Houk lost his dream of suc- ceeding Dr. C. Everett Koop as US Surgeon Genush Administration wants Dr. Antonia Novello for the post. Novello is a Puerto Rican pediatrica h' rther Don Novello is Saturday Night Live star "Father Guido Sardu- ci." Houk was a majorplye i mnytoic coverups, heading the Centers for Disease Control division respon- sible for deermnin toic xpourehealth effects. Houk was recently labelled either a fraud or a fool by Con- ess or suandringover$60Min tax money to conduct a study of exposure effects from Agent Orange mong ietves. Huk's tudy eam cncluded they couldn't find enough vets to count. Perhaps Dr. Noello'sfirst riorit shoul be toseek Huk's early retirement.
Special Waste, Again
Rep. Tom Luken (D-OH, not convicted child molester Buzz Lukens, R-OH) reintroduced "special waste" l. Luken received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from WMI's PAC and individualeeuie. AROUND THE STATES
ALABAMA: Federal court upheld AL's new law inhibiting out-of-state imports of hazwaste to the worldest dump in Emelle. At issue: US Constitution's "Interstate Commerce Clause" (Article I) whihsy nythe feds can regulate interstate commerce. Recently, this has been used by dumpers to knckdon an o ot of state waste ....312 trucks were stopped and inspected by state police as theyheaed o te WI'sEmele dump. Troopers fould 740 safety violations and issued citations....Ashfor resdent gotthe ity ouncl to block building permit for nuclear laundry proposed by Eastern Tecnologes.
ALASKA: Before it quit, Exxon spread fertilizer over areas slicked by the Valdez spill which had beeed" with oil-eating microbes to accelerate their growth. This move seems a logical outgrowth o h ulcrelations fertilizer they spread over the scandal. Protesters encir- cled 1 of 2 barge-munedininraor Exxon used burn cleanup debris from the PW Sound spill. Concerns related to emissonsandfurherpolutin from this "cleanup."
ARIZONA: Congrats, Citizens Against Hazardous Waste of Jerome for beating Phoenix Cement's planned h incinerator proposal in just over two months.
ARKANSAS: Lab tests confirmed 4th low-level nerve gas leak at Army's Pine Bluff Arsenal. Army: "No cr alarm."
CALIFORNIA: FBI is probing Waste Mgmt, Western Waste for possible price-fixing and conspiracy violat its courtship of Oceanside City officials. Under probe: trips to Palm Springs, Las Vegas WMI aecuclmem- bers....Riverside C'ty cancelled its contract with Western Waste after WW, along wih MIan Lidaw pleaded no contest to criminal charges of price-fixing and conspiracy in Los Angees.
COLORADO: Congratulations, Louisville Dumpbusters! They blocked planned WMI landfill by petitioning the needed land annexation put before the voters. Then, voters defeated annexation by a 4-1 mri ntelargest turnout ever in their area for a special election!.... Hooray, Elbert Cty ConceredCiiznsfo bocking BFI's planned 320-acre dump. ECCC mobilized hundreds of resi- dents to get 'tycomissones t voe down the project. ....Shell Oil started buying out contaminated homes nearthe ockyMounain rsenl ner Brighton, purchasing 4 houses....A grand jury is considering crimina chares ag ains Rockell It'l ad Dept. of Energy personnel after a "raid" by FBI and EPA investgatorson theRocky lats ABomb pant. Riders carted off truckloads of evi- dence. Included: a Jul '86 DO memo sying Roky Flat was "i poor cndition generally in terms of environ- mental complince," it permit pplicatins were gross- l deficiet" and some of its waste sites were "patently llegal." DOE gave ockwell a$8.6M bons in 1987 DOE headJames Watkins unveiled a 5-yr, $19.5B pln to cleanup Rocky Fats and 16other fedeal atomic eapons plats. Completing the entire cleanup ill take beween $90-$10B and strech into thenext centur. Rockwell ave up its federal contract o run the plnt in Oct. ad EG&G of Welesley, MA ws immediatel hired by DO to take over. Rockwel's also suedDOE, chargingDOE's pri- orty of bombs oer safety mad them break te law.
CONNECTICUT: State adopted sweeping solid waste legislation. Among requirements: newspapers must usecycled newsprint by 1998, disposable flashlites virtually banned, statewide planning for sourc euto nd increased recycling....Aetna Insurance joins the growing list of companies and instittinskikig hestyrofoam habit by switching to biodegradeable cups. Aetna workers go through 3.5Mcup a ear
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: On Oct. 1, mandatory recycling kicked in. Rumors drifted around DC for weeks tamous lawyers' yellow legal pads would be banned because inks reduce their recyclability (thisrmrpoe false).
FLORIDA: Recontech's beaten all over Florida after other targets chosen after defeat in Telogia bea Mutual aid from groups who'd beaten Recontech and backup from LEAF and CCHW forced Recontech osybe ye Fla....Congratulations, STOP for blocking the SE Dump proposed in Jacksonville....W. al Bac'sne mss- burner blew up, killing one worker on Oct. 9. The plant was built by Bechtel ad Bbcok &WIlox t acost of $176M. It was open for less than a month.
GEORGIA: McDuffy C'ty residents beat USPCI's planned HW burner one day after they rallied 600 folks.or C'ty folks won review of planned state HW burner....Stu- dents for Environmental Awareness o h nv of GA to stop using styrofoam.
IDAHO: Gulf Resources & Chemical, owner of 21-sq mile Superfund site in Kellogg, moved to Bermuda ient attempt to dodge liability. Bermuda doesn't enforce US court orders. Retired workers worryGCwl eege on pension, health benefits. In Aug., CCHW's Penny Newman & Will Collette visited wih heIDCiiznsNet- work to help plan actions. "Dump-hunting," ICN's Barbara Miller, Newman and Cllete oun a uge unecured part of the site with giant corroded storage tanks of acid sludge, a erie of its nd sstem of oses evidently draining wastes into a creek feeding the Snake River. Ater Mller eportd thee sigtings state officials tried to enter the site to collect evidence. GR meanwile moed in he couts to ry to lock inspection....Hurray for Moscow students (Moscow, ID,not USS), for rganizig to ge the scool disrict to stop using styro- foam in cafeterias....Follwing thrugh on along-stading thrat, Gov.Cecil Anrus again closed ID's borders to radwaste dumpng at theID Nat'l ab by DOEfrom US nclear weaons plant.
ILLINOIS: Concerned Cits Group of Centralia pressured the state to close of Centralia Env Services l on allegations of illegal dumping. State agents raided site, seizing records, equipment as evdne..uage C'ty hired Laidlaw to handle recyclables from its waste stream, but discovered Laidlw assipl dmpng them in nearby landfills.... Lake Forest College of Chicago joins the list bannng tyrfoa...WMIsiged a consent order for a $2-5M cleanup of its closed Wilsonville dump.
INDIANA: WMI's Porter C'ty dump caught fire, forcing evacuations of residents within a 1/2 mile radiinjuring 2 workers. WMI filed suit in Porter C'ty to try to block a new ordinance that would a h upfor outside waste dumping with money going to recycling.... Organized residents of Underoo batReonec's HW site plan.
KANSAS: U-KS banned styrofoam after student organizing collected petitions with 2600 signatures
KENTUCKY: Way to go, Concerned Citizens Coalition for blocking BFI's planned hazwaste burner in Loui... State Judge Wm. Graham blocked sale of notorious LWD of Calvert City to WMI pending determnto fwo's responsible for cleanup of old contaminated landfill on LWD grounds. In 1986, LWD cratd evra "hel" companies and attempted to "spin-off" ownership of the landfill. This may be lst ailin WD' cofin as KY acted to permanently close them...Bridge Alliance filed the 1st citizn coplait uner Ttle- RIgt To Know (reported in AB #22). Well, EPA has upheld the Alliance's coplain thatUnionCarbie illgallywithheld required info on its plant in Henderson and is considerng fins.... exingtn cityofficils reslved their dispute with hum- ane officials. Complaints chaged cit with mking wok- ers rab andbag pigons from downtown and bury them alive in the city ladfill. Tey will ow kill hem firs.
LOUISIANA: LA Envir. Action Network put together a coalition to win a historic victory over the LA C Assn. They beat LCA over a new state law on drinking water, winning expanded list of toxics cvrd oeed "acceptable risk" levels and discharges....Organized citizens of Houma blocked a propse mdwst brnr....Bottled water sales skyrocketed in Cheneyville after cockroaches were found ifesingthetow's ndeground water tanks. Gov't officials said there was no cause for alarm, but tat ddn'tstopresientsfromstripping store shelves.
MAINE: New law bans new private landfills, puts opera- ting facilities under state control, mandatesing, beverage container deposits, bans plastic 6-pack rings. It also overcomes efforts by the uepwridustry and Nuclear Reg. Comm. to classify mass quantities of rad- waste as "Below Regulaor Cncrn (RC, thus letting it be dumped in regular landfills. Law says all radwaste, even if i's BRC, mst o oly o licensed radwaste sites....KTI massburner in Biddleford was the site of seiousfireon Spt. 0. Cuse s unknown. Officials say they might never know because damage was so etensie.
MARYLAND: The "Rita Lavelle" of MD, John Menke, Montgomery Cty Env. Dir. quit to take a job with Belndit consultant, Mitre Corp. Citizens groups oppos- ed Menke's pro-industry policies, includin 05 as burn plan....Fed Magistrate Deborah Chasanow ordered records opened on a closed 1986 cae hee ooyer ettled 34 cancer suits for a reported $10-15M....750 tons of butter, plus grease romspaeris, urkys,hotdogs, eels and mackeral went up in flames in October at the USDA surplus ood arehuse n Cabride. he huge mess may cost more than $10M to clean up, making it one of themost ostlyfiresin MDhistoy.
MASSACHUSETTS: Clean Harbors, Inc.'s planned hazwaste burner in Braintree was dealt at least a temp set-back when state environmental chief John De Villars rejected their CHI's application....Saehsnwlaw setting a 50% toxic use reduction goal for 1997.
MICHIGAN: Resistance from organized Omena Lakes residents forced Oxford Energy to abandon plans for is trash burner....200 Freeland residents fled after a train derailment of chemicals destined o o nMdland burst into flames....A Menominee dairy worker and 4 would-be rescuers died when thy el itoa anre pit. They were overcome by methane gas fumes.
MINNESOTA: Horray, Evergreen Envir. Group and Citi- zens Opposed to Medical Waste Incineration for bPhillips & Assoc. planned burner in Cloquet.
MISSISSIPPI: Citizens for a Clean Environment held up Waste Mgmt's planned medwaste burner in McComSSOURI:Waste-Tech scratched MO off its target list for new HW incinerator after resounding defeat cprt and no alternative "host" community. Waste-Tech, an Amoco subsidiary is now considering F,P rMSfo new sites but gave no further details.
NATIVE AMERICANS: A second, dumb hazwaste scheme was defeated by Navajo citizens group, CARE....Alasts are angry that virtually nothing is being done to assess & address the effects of the EXXONVle i pill on 4 Native American villages that draw most of their food in the form of salmon frm hedeasatd aters. "I love otters, but the impacts on the communities have been largely ignore," aidDr homs Nghsander of the AK Area Native Health Center. Nighswander said he "moaned" whenhe larne $40000 verae wa spent to save each sea otter....37 tribes joined the Sioux Tribal Coucil i oppoing U Ecolgy/BF's rawaste dump planned for NE.
NEBRASKA: Omaha halted the rush to burn with a mor- atorium on new medwaste burners until safety staare issued.
NEVADA: NRC's own "Waste Confidence Review Group" raises questions about need for controversial Yucci-level radwaste dump. According to their report, US nuke power plants have above-ground storaecpct n site with enough space to last until 2025 which is cheaper and safer. Sen Harry Reid:"Te ucea dmpis dead. Now that the scientists have killed the idea, it's up to DOE to kill the rojct. Iftheburaucats can't keep a lid on the truth, what makes them think they can keep a lidon te dup?"
NEW JERSEY: Sorry, NJ readers, for lack of NJ stories in the last AB. No excuse: we simply lost theSo, this issue contains extra coverage....Iron- bound's Arnold Cohen and 18 other protesters wr utdfr planting flowers in Newark. Ironbound Comm. Org. staged a "plant-in" protest, plantingflwes n omosed sewage sludge to demonstrate alternatives to Newark's planned sludge incinerato. Carg: Asaut wth Deadly Petunia?....I-78 near Newark melted after illegal dump, Hub Recyclin & Srap gnitd an hea wasenough to buckle overpass. Hub was in bankruptcy at the time and open endin appel of tate losur orde.... Consulting firm Malcolm Pirnie was fired from a solid wasteplannig projct by amden 'ty afer comunity protests that it was biased toward incineration....AE and AOP in S Jerseystaged seriesof antimassburn protests, including a human chain around th Pennsauen ashfil, a moc permittng hearig at DEPHQ and mock beach party protesting a lake thatwas fille in for te ashfill...The "ipossible"happened n Jersey City: heavy metals like highly arcinogeni hexavalen chromi- u moved frely thru sol and founations to contaminate the low-incoe inner cit neighborhod. Over 2 illion tonsof chromiumwere dumpedover decades by compan- ies ike Allied-Sgnal, PPG, Ocidental andMaxus, but rsidents had een told thee was "no cause for alrm" because mtals like chrmium stay put The Interfath Community rganization oganized resident to fight for complete cleaup and not jus containment. ..Realtors in cean Township ressured plice to enforceold, probably uConstitutional,ordinance againt yard signs loal group used t proest planned tras burner dubbed "ucky's Burner" i honor of town feeholder George uckwald, projec' main promoter...NoDICE of Gloucster C'ty won agrements from localdevelopers that tey will no build ext to theKramer Landfill Suerfund site and wil support efforts o get a good, permnent leanup. NoDIC is aso pushing new legilation to require raltor notices to hoebuyers about hazar.
NEW MEXICO: Mountainview Residents (helped by the SW Organizing Project) won major cleanup concessio the Air Force. Residents won an oversight committee that will review and approve actions of cenpcnrctors.
NEW YORK: 150 Forest Glen residents, mostly low- income mobile home dwellers are likely to get permelocation under Superfund. Forest Glen is near Love Canal (which was recently declared "habital" n scontaminated by many of the same chemicals. At issue, however, are the terms. 1st offer o esdetswan' enough for them to find new homes. In Sept. CCHW's Lois Gibbs & Penny Newman visied esient tohel thm fight for fair relocation...US District Judge John Curtin rejected Oxy Pe.'s ain efene inliablitysuits for dumping at Love Canal. Oxy claims it gave up liability when t deeed Loe Canl to he Nigara alls School Board in 1953. The School Board built the 99th Stree Schoo, wher Lois ibbs' on attnded. is illnesses led to organizing at Love Canal, launching th Grassrots Movment fo Enviromental ustice...State Supreme Court upheld Suffolk C'ty's preceden-settingordinanc banningplastic ackagingas Consttutional. Court also ordered unsealed records f $4.75M ettlementmade by Xrox to 2 ebster failies whoclaimed TCE caused childrens' cancers an other illesses. Criicizing "cverup" of mportant pblic healt info, Court ordered release of enironmental,epidemiologcal data "fr the protetion of pubic health."..NY is 2nd state (after Maie) to ban fod preserved y exposure t radiation. similar lawawaits Gov. eane's signature in NJand other law are pending n MA, MN, PA,NH, OR & AK. ..Broome Couny banned plasic food packagesin stores and estaurants....iagara Mohawk ower covered u a rad-sludge pill at its Nie Mile Poit Plant on LakeOntario for 11 rs. WIXT-TV reprts spill containated 129,000 q feet and so ht copany personnel culdn't assess th damage. Insteadof cleanup, theycordoned off thesite....NY join L & SC, banningout of state hazwste imports.
NORTH CAROLINA: Fire at the Caldwell Systems hazwaste burner in Lenoir forced dozens of families to e,sending 54 people to local hospitals. CSI was shut down temporarily, while county took measue ose ermanent closure. Caldwell also had 3 permit violations in a 35-day span...Noting Waste gm i to orup for Chicago and was caught in a Los Angeles pricefixing scam with locally-despise GS/Ladla, Cr. or ommunity Action won a vote by Robeson County to terminate its dealings with MI...Newstat lawwillphas-out and ban plastic food packaging over the next 2 years. McD's styroacks nd plstic upermrket ags wll be among the items that will be banned.
OHIO: Buy-outs, permanent relocations were added to the Record of Decision for at least some neighbohe Industrial Excess Landfill in Uniontown....Major fire shut down, severely damaged Columbus S unr lant will be out of commission for 3 months and will cost millions to repair.... Communiie Uitd orAcion of Cincinnati won a new city ordinance setting aside incineration in favor of 0% ast reucton,reccling and composting to address the city's solid waste needs....
....A series of earthquakes in August jolted Ashtabula, Cty, OH. The quakes ranging up to 2.9 on ther scale, were blamed on the waste injection well operated by Reserve Environmental Services.
GSX/LAIDLAW: "Nasty!"
July's fire at GSX/Laidlaw's hazwaste plant in Cleveland gave insights into company safety practiceeople were treated at local hospitals, including 5 emergency response workers, when chemicals ern ooher label than a skull and crossbones and the word "Nasty" burst into flames. The fire ocuedwhleGS ws disputing nearly a million dollars in fines for mishandling toxics, improperly lbelng hemandstoingthem longer than permitted. The state of Ohio ordered the plant closed, whil it ough furher inesand permanent shut-down. EPA ordered $120K in addition fines and threatend to ank is fedral lcense All f this makes GSX's plan for a new hazwaste incinerator on the sie, biterly oposed y loca residnts, amost unlikely prospect.
OKLAHOMA: Enid enacted a HW transport ordinance aimed at making sure proposed USPCI HW dump doesn't r nearby town.
CONDOLENCES
Brenda Crawford, 27, founding director of the VA Student Environmental Health Program was killed incrash in southern Africa where she was serving as a Peace Corps volunteer to Zimbabwe.
In August, Rubye Ford of Sumter Cty, AL died. Ms Ford was a grand lady of the Old South who cast ofestraints of racial divisions to link hands with her black neighbors to fight for environmenta utc ginst WMI's Emelle dump as a member of Alabamians for a Clean Environment.
Amos Peasley, mayor of E. Greenwich, NJ and a valued part of the successful efforts of NoDICE in blNJ's plan to sponsor huge hazwaste sites in rural NJ died in September.
OREGON: New state law says all companies covered by Community Right to Know must also make and publte reduction plans and report on their progress in achieving reduction goals....Organized resiet nN ortland beat Ko-Am Int'l on a planned PCB incinerator that would have burned 10,000 tranfomes n hemidle of a residential neighborhood.
PENNSYLVANIA: Horray, RESCUE, for beating dump planned by Solid Waste Industries which would've dum0 tons of out of state garbage a day in Little Meadows....Congratulations CARE & HELP of the Srno rafor three victories: for forcing Bechtel to yank its massburn plan in Dunmore; for blockngexanio o te notorious Keystone Landfill and for blocking planned Colombo Transfer Station...orkrs erelai of inPhilly's non-profit National Temple recycling program (an economic developmet prgramin te blck cmmun ity). Waste Mgmt's recycling subsidiary, Recycle America, took away te cit contact fr reccling
On Sept. 13, Gov. Bob Casey instituted "TrashNet," a roadblock and interception program on the NJ-PA Agents of the State Police, State DOT and environmental regulators, plus Gov. Casey in his shrsevs stopped hundreds of trucks hauling out of state waste into PA. Over 500 citations were ssedinth frs day for safety and environmental violations. Shipments were turned away at the brde an th rodblckshave continued. Apparently moved by his experience, one month later Casey isuedan Eecutve Oder mmedately halting all new landfill construction, expansions and incineratos. Te ordr als direts th stat agency to draft a new state solid waste law requiring comprehenive plnning hat pus the ighestprioriy on reduction and recycling as alternatives to burning an dumpin. It'llalso reuire exensive ackgroud checks on criminal, environmental records of any fture wase site aplicant a compreensive "ad Boy" aw). This order freezes, if not kills, dozensof dump ad burner roposals n PA. Nonew facilty may bepermitted unless 70% or more of its wast comes fro the commuity where t'is locatd.
PUERTO RICO: Local citizens, backed by Mision Industrial, stopped Club Med from developing an unspoistal area of Whale Bay near Guanica.
RHODE ISLAND: Sears and Blue Cross were 1st companies fined for breaking new state law barring dumphere more than 30% of the load is recyclable.... Showing excellent priorities, state regulator ie oary Club fund-raiser under the Clean WaterAct. The Rotary "raced" 7000 pink & yellow, nubeedplstc ucs in the Pawtuxent River. Duck "sponsors" paid $3 to vie for a Florida vacation tip.Volnters ettd te ducks after they crossed the finish line. Five ducks were missing, leadingto te chrges Tha sam day figures were released showing local companies legally discharged 174,00 lb of cncer-ausin chemcals nto the same water system....Capt. Iavovos Georguidis & Ballard hippin pleadd guily to fderal hargesfrom the June 23rd spill of 300K gal. of oil off Newport. Ballardagreed o pay $00K, th captai, $10K. TIPS:
From Commando Carl: when blockading, chain your cars together. This makes them very hard to tow unl tow operator has good bolt cutters. If using front-wheel drive cars, back them in away from tetwtukaccess. Do the opposite for rear-wheel drive.
From PA member Diane Beemer: Don't use industry terms!. Diane came up with a great one for "LEACHATl it GARBAGE JUICE.
From DC member Neil Styskal: use Small Claims Court to bring many small suits against polluters. Yrepresent yourself and force bad guys to use hi-price counsel to defend. For example, if a polue asdproperty value loss, hundreds of homeowners could sue ALL AT ONCE for the maximum allowd n ha sat'ssmall claims court (as much as $2000). Your chances of winning are at least as god o betertha hiinga law- yer to sue in in higher courts, plus you can integrate a plan like ths ino anorgaizin strtegyto force the polluter to stop. Despite the sex appeal of "class actio lawsits,"classactios realy beefit polluters more than victims. Headlines that talk about mult-millin dollr clas actios don' give he reality that such suits are often settled, after years f delayfor amonts as ittle a $10K pr injurd person (the average Love Canal victim received $10021.92; heir lawers got lmost $7 in fees. Detais are in an article in the Spring '89 issue ofNOLO NEWS 950 Parkr St, Bereley, CA 4710, 415549-1976.
Our best wishes go to our friends in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, South and North Carolina, the ulf and the San Francisco Bay Area who've seen so much trouble from earthquakes and hurricane. e elwishes go to Sr. Eloise Boone, Ms. Johnnie Burgess and Marie McGlaun.
SOUTH CAROLINA: Organized Richland Cty residents beat Weston Envir. Corp. planned medwaste burner..ers at Savannah River Project federal A-bomb plant drank water tainted with cancer-causing solet o 5months. Waste water was accidentally tied into drinking water line. Management told workrs"ter'snocase for alarm" and claimed they weren't harmed.
TENNESSEE: Nashville massburn foes got a big win when the Metro Board of Health to reject an expansiby the city's Thermal Transfer Plant....After 11 yrs of litigation,Velsicol finally sent check o15Toe folks in $10M settlement. Largest payment of $186K went to 11 yr old Benjamin Boyd, crppedwih irh efects.
TEXAS: As we go to press, fire still burns at Phillip Petroleum's Pasadena plastics plant. 2 dozen ware dead or missing, another 100+ hospitalized to bring the world plastic milk jugs. The roof fanab chool nearly collapsed on 700 children....Texaco admitted it runs one of the dirtiest plnt i US.atPot Nueches and said it will spend $30M to cut toxic discharges....Yeah! IRATE for frcig DXIC towitdra its hazwaste burner plan from Dallas....Community pressure forced Enviromedto wthdrw it planed edwate burner from Corpus Christi....EXXON lost a lawsuit against it by neghbor of is Bayown pant. xxon ust pay $1M to 3 families, though pollution continues. An internl memoleakedto resdents hows EXON's ntentions. The memo, written by Exxon P.R. coordinator RonEmbry nted theplant i threatned by ngry rih people since gas leaks drifted over the area near he County Club. In generl, residnts of Cuntry Clb are more affluent than Wooster residents an have greter acces to local state an federal overnmentpowers which could impose additional resrictions ad increaseour costs..
UTAH: Midvale City Council voted to oppose EPA's plan to clay cap 13.5M cubic feet of arsenic hazwashe Sharon Steel Superfund site. This, plus other local opposition got EPA to stop the capping prto hle other options for cleanup on considered.
VERMONT: TRASH/VOC of Thetford closed down the Bennington-Rutland dump....Friends of Green River bloe Monash dump.
VIRGINIA: State troopers raided Front Royal polluter Avtex, Inc. to grab evidence in criminal invest of PCB discharges. State AG Mary Sue Terry wants a court order closing the plant. Avtex, the raslret employer, played job blackmail with neighbors, admitting gross pollution, but threatenngtoclseiffoced to obey the law. Avtex was saved from bankruptcy earlier this year when the miitay gve vte a ew ontract. EPA took 1st steps to get the site on the Superfund list...RandolphMaco Colege tudets oganied and won a ban on styrofoam at the school....Under pressure from Bucanan ountyCitizns Aginst utsid Garbage, county supervisors want to cancel their contract with uchana Landfll Inc for aregionl landill. Supervisors were left grasping for options after citzens jamed ther meetig....$2 isn't hicken eed but that's what it cost Seaboard Farms of Bent Muntain t clean u around 00 kilotns of modering cicken manure which was contaminating local wels and strams. Thats a lot o chicken oodoo.
WASHINGTON: Spokane area massburn foes won a stunning victory in primary elections. The mayor & Citil committed the city to a $0.6B massburn project with Wheelabrator. When citizens took up a rfrnu eition to put the project before voters, mayor & City Council spent $1M to sue, in the sut' wrd, th txpayers, ratepayers and voters of Spokane" to keep the question off the ballot. Ouragd, urnfoe ra it own slate. Sheri Barnard won 52% of the votes in the mayoral primary. Two ati-mssbun concilcanddate led the pack with 37% of the vote each and a third came in a respectale 2n. Ifmassbrn oponent win he gen- eral election (which occurs as we go to press), they'llcontro city overnmnt andcan cacel th project. After a visit by CCHW's Penny Newman and Will Cllette,the coaition wll alsoset up People' Polling places," setting up tables in the precinctsso peopl can "Voe on theQuestionthe CityCouncil oesn't Want You to See!" And Cheney, site of he proposd ashfillstarted frmal procedings tosecede frm Spokane C'ty, while other residents ar planning mass tax-batement ptition drie---if thecity/count wants to waste more than half a bllion dollas, they'll ave to findother chump to pay forit. Stay tued for results....After Ritzille beat ECS (a hazwast subsidiary f BurlingtonNorthern), EOS tried 12 ther towns as hosts fo its planned W burner. So ar, 10 of 12 ave rejected he project an the other 2 re likely to folow suit....DOE Westinghouse overed up '84 eport showing otential for eplosion of rad & chemica waste tanks atHanford A-Bomb lant.
WEST VIRGINIA: Congrats again, MACE for another win over the many hazwaste disposal projects targetason C'ty. MACE celebrated the defeat of Aptus (owned by Nat'l Electric) in its bid for a hazwsebre...Citizens won another one, getting the Gov. to issue an executive order freezing medwase urercostucion....Good work, WV citizens organized by Missy Wolverton for blocking one of BFIs min en n W, Sm Clvin, from being named head of WV's Solid Waste Management Bd....Sutton resientsnotied teir aterturnng rank. When the town's cistern was checked, they found a decomposinghumanbody.A boi-wate orde was ssued, but officials said "no cause for alarm."
WYOMING: EPA wants fines of $150K from Chem. Marketing Services for mishandling hazwaste that contamthe Brookhurst neighborhood of Evansville.
AROUND THE WORLD: Great Britain: Dock workers and authorities turned away PCB shipments at the portssbury and Liverpool. Waste came from a massive fire last year in St-Basile-le-Grand. Quebec watdt edthe waste to ReChem Int'l in Britain. This is a turn-around for the Thatcher government,stllhutig ro losses to Greens in Euro-Parliament elec- tions. Waste was returned to Canada whee i wa grete wih aprotest by 1500 residents. Residents got a restraining order, but the crew sarte unladin, ledingto te arrest of 13 crew, including the captain of the Soviet flag vessel NdezhaObukhva fo contmpt o cour. The wastes were held on the dock, as the Quebec gov't tries tocome u with "PlanB"....hina: nvir- nmental Protection Bureau admits ignorance, careless handlng causd 20 deths and1200 inuries fom rad-waste between 1980-85....India: Supreme Court OK'd pyments o $60 eac to 7687survivin, permanntly injred victims of Union Carbide's 1984 chemical lak in Bhoal that klled over2000 peope....Irelnd: Localactivists in Cork organized marches and unger stries, forcin Dow Chemial to withraw a propsed chemicl plant....Italy: Adriatic Coast i covered wih slime, bu it's OK, sys the gov'. Alessandr Beretta Anuissola, Pres. of the Suprem Health Counil: "The seais dirty butit's not danerous." Slie is a brown& yellow algae caused y raw sewage,fertilizer an chemical duming in Italia rivers. It'salso wiping ot marine life...Canada: consumr goods will nw start to bea a logo indicaing they conseve energy, arerecycled o recylable, arebiodegradable ad free of ozone killing chemicls. Companies wnting to use th log will have to aply to Environmen Canada, the govrnment regulator agency. They wil pay a fee to ae their producttested to determie that it conform to the standardsfor the logo progam.
There's Hope
U-OR researchers discovered natural process in termite mounds in the Boola Boola Forest of Australidestroys CFCs. Some yet unknown natural process is removing and breaking down CFCs in those mons I hory, if we stop using CFCs, nature could clean them up over the next few centuries, unles,ofcors, e reed more Australian termites.
OTHER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT
FDA confirmed milk cartons hold low levels ("no cause for alarm") of dioxin in chlorine-bleached patons. ....Jack Anderson reports a rash of incidents of "stray voltage" are killing thousands o ar os Power surges kill cows by zapping them when they're hooked up to milking machines.
NO THANKS!
Rita Lavelle, former EPA Superfund chief is now an "environmental consultant." Lavelle served 4 mosd. penitentiary for perjury. Lavelle offered the Environ- mental Health Coalition of San Diegohrsrie as a volunteer but was turned down by EHC director Diane Takvorian who said, "I didn't onidr eraproriate."
THIS IS OUGHT TO BE CRIMINAL!
State wildlife officials will shoot up to 20 black bears in Petersburg who've been living on town g Now that the town has a new trash incinerator, there's no more garbage to eat and wildlife ofiil r orried hungry bears will threaten humans....CA Energy Dept says it'll cost millions to pocss30yr wrt of dog excrement buried in tanks in Solano C'ty. Doggie doo is left over from exprimntsdon tobealeson long-term radiation exposure effects.
SPIES?
Thanks to dozens of readers who sent us an August AP story on a service by DC consulting firm Mongoscoe and Duchin which offers intelligence service to corporations on environmentalists. For $10,MDgvs clients a profile on NRDC. Some unnamed BD clients pay $3500-$9000/mo. for reports on erai isus,grups. MBD says its reports are based on public info and it doesn't spy or infiltrat. noter irm Paan nt'l, noted for its soldier of fortune approach to union-busting, does activ esponag on roup oppsingcorporate practices, like a recent spy mission for Shell on church grops leding int'lanti-parthid bocott.
CORPORATE CORNER
DEALS
In AB #23, we reported Elders IXL of Australia was buying up Kerr McGee stock in a likely takeover. hile, a coalition of int'l companies led by giant Canadian beermaker Molson Ltd. is buying up les loin AB #23, we reported ENSCO was saved from bankruptcy thru a $30M loan (and $30M stock uy b aoterAut- ralian company, Brambles Industries. Now Brambles wants to swallow up ENSCO thr a 1708M ffe fo th rest of ENSCO's stock. Brambles 1st offer was rejected as not enough by ENSO's oardbut he dor'sopenfor Brambles to up the ante. CCHW's Australian friends gave us good bckgrond onBrambes.
o ELF Acquitaine of France resolved Fed. Trade Commission objections to its $1.05B acquisition oalt. The FTC objected, charging the buy would give ELF a monopoly on certain polymers. Under teareet the buy can go forward, but ELF must sell Pennwalt's Thorofare, NJ plant but may keep nohe i ClvrtCity, KY.
o France's Michelin bid $1.5B for Uniroyal.
o Borden Chemical, in a joint venture with Toago- sei Chemical, Tokyo, bought Krazy Glue.
o Framatome Group (French gov't's nuclear industry) bought a $50M, 50% share of Babcock & Wilcoxhburg, VA nuclear service subsidiary.
o Canadian Occidental Petroleum will build a new $50M chemical plant near Edmonton, Alberta.
o Chemical and drug giants Johnson & Johnson and Merck formed a joint venture last March and expheir business by buying Imperial Chemical's ICI Americas drug division for $450M.
o Ogden Corp is buying ERC Int'l for $87M.
o Harold Simmons, head of NL Industries (polluter at the DOE nuclear weapons plant in Fernald, Obuying up stock of Georgia Gulf, looking to control at least 15% of the company's stock.
o Noxell Corp. is being bought out by Procter & Gamble for $1.3B.
o BF Goodrich bought Arrowhead Industries division of Culligan Int'l, maker of water filter syst industry.
o In June and July, 6 BFI execs sold thousands of shares of their stock. Among them: Director Loers sold 130,000 shares for $4.6M.
o George Schultz, a former Bechtel executive and Sec. of State under Reagan, was named to the Bf Directors of Bechtel and Chevron.
o Industry's champing at the bit to get alternatives to CFCs on the market. US, Japanese and Eucompan- ies are investing millions to find alternatives to ozone- killing CFCs, knowing there r ilosin profits to be had. We reported in the last AB that Dupont built its 1st HCFC plant i Cnaa.Assh Gass of Japan is spend- ing $158M in R&D. Meanwhile, the ozone hole over the SouthPol ha aparetlygron much larger in size, now stretching up to New Zealand. The Program for Alt erntiveFluoocaron Txiciy Testing (an int'l industry group) claims that its tests on HCFC-123 Dupon's fo- mul), HCC-141 and FC shown the new chemicals are not "significantly" toxic. AT&T sys it'l end se of FCs by1994. uge amunts of various forms of CFCs are used in the electronics ndustryas a claner. G will hve dealrs instll CFC- recycling gear by 1991. Nis- san Motors saysits car ir condiioners wll be CF free by1993. GEpledged to figure out ways to stop venting CFCs during efrigeratr repairs but was lasted fo failure o be specific. On Oct. 16, Whirlpool lai claim to eing the 1t US firm ith a CFC ecovery prgram for rfrigerator repair.
o Five grocery chains pledged to stop selling pesticide treated produce by 1995, according to th Toxics Campaign. These are: Provigo (1000 Canadian stores); its CA branch Petrini (23 stores) BO(0sores in AZ); Raley's (60 stores in No. CA) and Bread & Circus (a Boston gourmet store)...Dpot,Pen-wat, BASF, and Rohm & Haas announced they will curtail sales of fungicide EBDC "to sareconumes ay frthr trauma," such as that recently experienced over Alar. On 9/1, EPA ordered niroal t begn a -yr haseut of controversial pesticide Alar.
Conrail becomes the 4th No. American railroad to get into waste disposal, thru a joint venture withterials of Findlay, OH. Conrail says it'll use its ex- tensive land holdings to develop "stateo-h-r"sites for treatment & disposal of hazardous and solid waste. Other railroad ventures: UnonPaifc ouhtan exis- ting HW company, USPCI; Canadian Pacific bought a controlling interest inLailawGSXandBuringon Northern set up ECOS, its own HW subsidiary. Most railroads (and certainl allof tese)are hemslvesHW generators, are named as responsible parties at Super- fund sites, ransprt hamat, ave hd lot of sills and usually have plenty of land to spare, so this industry ove is't surrising
Crime & Punishment
IPennwalt CEO Edwin Tuttle finally obeyed demands of Tacoma federal Judge Jack Tanner and appeared on to present the company's guilty plea in a toxics case. Pennwalt paid $500K in fines and anohr$0Kwll be set up in a local environment trust.
OA conspiracy lawsuit by Attorneys General from 19 states against major insurers (e.g. Aetna, Allstrtford, Cigna, Lloyds of London) was dismissed. Insurers were charged with conspiring to deny eti ye of insurance coverage, most specifically insurance for pollution liability. For over 5 eas,inurnc cmpanies have practiced "NIMIC" (Not In My Insurance Company"), refusing to issue cverge o ptenialtoxc polluters, throwing the industry into disarray. Their position is roughly he sme a mos citzens grops: waste disposal sites aren't an "acceptable risk." US District Judg Wm. . Schartze dismssed he cae against insurers, ruling the companies were specifically exemped fro such egal ation uder th 1944 cCarran-Ferguson Act.
Reagan apparently forgot, but Bush didn't. Armand Hammer, CEO of Love Canal polluter Occidental Petrinally got his Presidential pardon for 2 federal convictions for Watergate-connected illegal cmag otibutions.
jMinolta agreed to pay EPA $600K for violations of Toxic Substances Control Act.
uChevron was fined $877K by OSHA for 114 safety violations at its Richmond, CA plant where a fire ling severely injured 3 workers.
|PA. regulators cited Amer.Envir. Service and Decom Medical Waste Systms for illegal storage of medste in Norristown.
aGillette agreed to pay $300K to settle a lawsuit against it for including a carcinogenic chemical popular "white-out" fluid "Liquid Paper." They also agreed to stop using the chemical and subsiueasfr substance. Gillette was allowed under the agreement to continue selling the unsafe prdut ntl arh,1990, but will allow customers to switch toxic bottles for the allegedly non-toxicsubtitte. IMtalpolshing exec. Navin Patel got 6 months in the pokey and a $25K fine for illegal dumping inn, I.
IModern Aluminum Anodizing and its pres. Frank Sigsbury pleaded guilty to felony charges for illegaping hazwaste into the Hoosac River near North Adams, MA. They were ordered to pay $50K in fie n oae $5K to a local conservation group.
IHighest Clean Water Act fine: $3.2M vs. P&D Oil and Chemical Storage of Bayonne, NJ. Judge blastedd EPA, ordered fine to be set up as trust, not paid to general treasury.
RESOURCES
Island Press' new catalog is out, listing a flock of great books, including several we've featured column (e.g. Crossroads and a great new book by Louis Blumberg and Bob Gottlieb, War on Waste.WieIlnd Press, 1718 Connecticut Ave NW, #300, Washington, DC 20009.
WIPP Trail, a 54-min. VHS video (narrated by Robert Redford) on DOE plans to ship military radwaste r the US to an unproven site in New Mexico. $29.95 from WIPPP Trail, Box 15297, Sante Fe, NM 856
Toxics, Jobs and the Environment, is an excellent training and source book $20 from TCP, 942 Market 2, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Desperate Remedies ($5.95, Atlas Signs, Box 1525, Santa Barbara, CA 93102) by Les Conrad describes p suffered by neighbors of Casmalia HW dump.
Waste to Riches,video with good reference guide and Bad Deals and Broken Promises: A Survey of Wheer's Performance. From CWAP, 317 Penn. Ave SE, Wash. DC 20003.
RESOURCE ON NERVE GAS DISPOSAL: ask the Greenpeace Pacific Campaign (1436 U St NW, Washington, DC 20r their Review of Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System.
IS YOUR WORK MAKING YOU SICK? is a new slide-tape program with excellent handout materials in Englisn Spanish from the Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program, UC-Berkeley Institute of IndutilRltons, Berkeley, CA 94720. Single copies of the book are $2.50 with generous discounts forbuk rdrs
Here's a Science Fair idea for your kids: take one of those so-called "biodegradeable" plastic bagse if it really degrades. We took an "Earth-Sack," one of our staff members got with his grocere n etd the company's claim that"Due to our concern to help in cleaning up the environment, wear nw sig hi completely DEGRADABLE PLASTIC BAG. This bag will begin degrading within 7 days ofexpsur toligt ad wll continue the process until it turns into nontoxic environmentally safe dut wih noharmul bprodcts SIC]." We hung the sack in a window in the blistering VA sun for 3 moths. urprie! Itdidn' degrde.
pAccording to Nat'l Cancer Institute epidemiologists, 1 out of 4 cases of bladder cancer are job-re Among the occupations that show a higher risk of this form of cancer: bootblack, sales, broadatn,dycleaning, painters, truck drivers, drill press operators and agricultural workers.
TIPS
NUMBERS
Emergency Planning & Right To Know: 800-535-0202
National Library of Medicine: 800-638-8480
National Pesticides Hotline: 800-858-7378
RCRA/Superfund Hotline: 800-424-9346
Safe Drinking Water Hotline: 800-426-4791
Short, Short Term Action Goals: Because Waste Management and Browning?Ferris Industries have apparesinuated themselves into the good graces of the National Recycling Coalition, Convention delegts e yVickie Kelley of Arkansas, planned a protest to take place at the NRC's National ConventoninChrltt, C from Oct 31-Nov 3. Madelyn Hoffman of the NJ Grassroots Environmental Organizatin rcomendd pggybacing anti-incineration protests on the American Cancer Society's Great Americn Smke Ot Da whih isNov.16th this year. GREO plans candlelight vigils and other protests and clls o othe grous to o thesame.
SHORT TERM GOALS
Fight corporate propaganda.
-Redefine in our terms
-Emphasize 3 R's
-Fight corporate control of recycling
2.Waste Policy goals
-Eliminate Below Regulatory Concern
-Advocate 100% recycling
-Reject Capacity plans w/o reduction
-Force industry and government to develop markets for recyclables using laws where needed -Attack packaging
-Ban CFC's
-Oppose deregulation of incinerator ash
3. Organizing Strategies ?Attack and expose Bush and Reilly and local officials ourage local leadership into electoral politics -Encourage new leadership Cmi ogving help in exchange for getting help -Block deep well injection and cement kln Wok regionally with other groups -Prevent sacrifice zones -Oppos GUBY -edue military budget -Oppose interstate and international waste shipmnts 4. Eduction -Advanced workshops -Multimedia approaches, (ie computers, t, moves et) -Get nto te schools 5 Forest issues -Ozone -Ban CF's Eat loer on he foo chain -Recycle paper INCINRATION ESOLUTINS 1. Ban onall fors of incineration in 5 years 2. Close relationshis betwee regulatrs and idustry ae wrong -Expse them -Network -Push ethics codes nd other ecessary estrictios 3 Ntional Colitions o groups to push for -Local Democraic Controland responibility -Regiona networkin -Expnded right to know -Informatin exchange -Ash trated as hazrdous waste -Ban o incineratin 4 In place of incineraion, Mandatoy waste redution leadingto toxic eliminationby using -Waste Audits -Ctizen review nd veto of wate plans -Specific dealines for impementation ofprograms -Secific reductin goals 5
Action Steps -October 17 Phone ins and EPA Regional actions on Capacity assurance?l? -Nov6 candlelight vigils around proposed/existing
incinerators -Block and reverse ash deregulation locally, statewide and federally
through actions (special deliveries of "special waste") letters,
lobbying. 6 Watch out for and oppose -sewage incineration -waste authorities ulation of ash -ash in building and road materials -sham recycling in cement and lim in,idstrial boilers and in
building materials JOBS VS THE ENVIRONMENT 1. EPA/OSHA are not adequate-e Right to Act which includes, -community on site inspection -strengthening of the LP' nldng giving them money -set up hazard prevention committees within the workplace- can hudon the facility- while workers continue to be paid. -Workers need the right to rejecSHAsetlemntsand fines -Support union growth so workers can act on chemical exposures in th worplac -Highlight unions history and victories of justice in other US
movements -Share information between environmentalists and workers 2 Greater fines forors -Make grants for small companies -Force expenditures on source reduction and waseadt -Workers suit provisions -Workplace made safe, not worker safe from the workplace Notoicchmical exposure 3 Community based production which is Unionized, ecologically sond andis ustinale -Develop superfund type tax to fund out of work employees and to fun resarchintonew echnology -Social control over technology NUCLAR WATE REOLUTINS 1 Sto all production of new radioactive materials -No radioactivs in cnsumermaterils -Oppoe dereulation of radioactive wastes (BRC) -Ban on importatin and eportatin Redirec $ for uclear esearch to development of acceptable energy
sources Develop Healthy alternatives -No food irradiation -solutions defined by pot industry -New scientific research on nuke waste 3 Monitoring -Comprehensive -omnt input -Right to Know -NRC needs citizen oversight 4 Liability -Requir gneatr ak fll title and liability for radioactive
waste -Define generator as the board of Directors of the company ?l??5 Amend Atomic Ent of 1954 to include health and safety
provisions LAND DISPOSAL RESOLUTIONS 1 No land disposal oials harmful to life -Landfill fighters network -Ban deep well injection -Ban ln ipslof safely compostable or recyclable materials 2 Enforce strengthen and demand governmntfudig orlas and regulations -Expand definition of hazardous waste -Declassifywases nde iner tat commerce clause to allow local control of waste flows -Hold all ompaies,paret copanis, ad individuals responsible
for their actions -Adopt regulations to prevent companies convicted of or pleading no
contest to felony charges from being granted the privilege of
participating in the waste business for five years -Adopt regulations requiring a comprehreview of the
compliance history of a company as a matter of granting a permit to
operate 3. Demand appropriate siting of disposal facilities for all "non-
hazardous " materials -Comprehensive pre-investigation of proposed sites -Complete purticipation programs -Local citizens approval -Public disclosure of company managemetbcgon and materials to
be disposed -Citizen advisory committee to select consultants to perform health rissments and environmental impact statements to be paid for
by applicant -Applicant to disclose and discuss all negative impacts relative to
proposed facility and the proposed site 4. Prompt and thorough cleanup and compensation forng toxic messes -Close all existing land disposal sites -Perpetual long term moioigo losed sites -Wastes should be permanently cleaned up or safely stored above
ground in on site in mausoleums -No development of closed sites ION AND ENFORCEMENT 1. Increase public pressure on Enforcement -Pressure on Decision maes Same lists -Demand new legislation -Direct action 2. Remove waste from protecio o ItestteCommerce Clause -Equal laws in all states -Direct action -Shame lstsof ad tats Measles Maps 3. Waste Audits -Nationwide audit -Measles Map -Natonaldataank Montly dishonor awards ?l??4. Loophole Day -Right to Act -Educte
and bust myths -Local direct actions -Flyers 5. Improve public participation -Monthrt cards on regional level -Quarterly seminars sponsored by local groups AT EUCTION RESOLUTIONS 1 Mandatory waste reduction through reduction, recycling, and reus prgrmsthoughout the country -Educate and promote community participation, focus on yoth -Reuir clsedloop recycling and source reduction before treatment
or disposal facilities are built -Achieve 50% reduction of organic wastes through safe cog and
mulching programs -Actively oppose packaging materials and products that are not
recyclable or are unnecessary. Actively support responsible
packaging -Promote a ban on the manufacture sale or use of falsely advertised "envially safe" plastic products such as degradable plastic items -Change budget priorite omre research , reuse, recycling and source reduction instead of hazardous waste and grbge incinerators -Get new money in budgets for market development, require
governments to use recycled paper -Provide tax incentives to recycle wastes and to requir
manufacturers to develop markets for recycled materials -Make waste reduction and recyclitical and electoral issues 2 Materials that are toxic or harmful to the environment will no e rduced -Source separation of hazardous wastes mandatory for households and comeria cmpnis efore solid waste enters municipal
collection/disposal system -Go after polluters, impose penalties -Use corporate finelean up in the same region -Use Right to Know laws to obtain information about chemicals n processes -Enforce victims compensation rights 3 No permits granted to companies that ut -Permits must require zero discharges to air/land and water -Demand adequate resoucsfr eforemet and strengthening of
existing laws; encourage expanded and creative penalties -Gather info about companies an with other groups -Publicize info about interlocking directorships and past activity
to expose conflicts of interest -Promote immediate closure of facilities found in violati
federal, state or local regulations by seeking injunctions, require
active compliance with regulations prior to reopening -Promote strengthened local zoningo protect the environment -Require impact statements before any permit is granted 4 On omnt' problem should not become another's problem -Ban international and state import/exor o wst ad ad
technologies ?l?? -Safe on-site decontamination -Local responsibility TE ACCOUNTABILITY/VICTIM COMPENSATION RESOLUTIONS 1 CorporateRsosblty to Citizens (in the form of a bill of rights) -Public disclosure of chemicas se, etod ued, 24 hour accident
notification -Speedy results 2. Financial Responsibility -Cradle to grave responsifor cleanup (no sacrifice zones) -Just compensation -Fund set up at very beginning b oprto for
compensation/cleanup -Responsibility of manufacturer doesn't end at point of sale 3. Puput -Citizens meet with executives and tour facility on demand -Full right to affectdcsos4 International responsibilities -Support international code of ethics (UN) -anonexor o hzardous waste -Foreign citizens able to sue US companies overseas 5. Prevenion -Rseach nd evelopment on processes that don't pollute -Source Reduction/waste miniizaton -itizn's roup aiding in this 6. Tracking responsibilities -Labelling statemets tht incude, omponnts, ecyclbility,
degradability, general environmental impact including production and disposal, health im -Cradle to grave means citizens know where the waste goes -Financial responsibility fcroain for dangerous components of
products 7. Compensation is a right -Personal insurance must broaden to include enviro illness
including testing and right to own personal doctor -Government Coverage for unemployed dulness with broadened
concept of disability -Workman's compensation (corporate funded) that is speedy and extended to include; relocation, job loss, water, medical,
emotional stress, property values, general health, (if not covered already) 8 Right t -What has been sprayed in public buildings -True goings on chemicals and methods use,ntfcton of
accidents/spills LONG TERM
GOALS RESOLUTIONS 1 Build disposal costs into products 2 Separating income from work 3 Chatitutional character of government decision making 4 Make the connections between othe sus5 Coalesce with labor and religion 6 Educate the electorate on environmental issues 7 ee ugecy8 Make international connections ?l??9 Citizen control over alternative technolgie (boteh) 0 Focs on passing resistance on to our children 11 Economic democracy, citizen ecison mkingabou prouctsand production processes 12 Make the planet a safe place to liv 13 Toxic prevntionand eiminaion 14 Change in consciousness, build in interest and involvemnt 15 Makin humanind's ctivites mor congenial to the global ecosystem 16 Change consumers bhavior ot to by produts whic pollut 17 Ct the fucking bullshit 18 Make our movement as incusive aswe can 1 Rememer the aimals an the plats 20 Do the least possible harm to the plant 21 Trst technoogy less remember he o ring" 22 Bein the heal the damage already done 23 Stop deforstation 24 Get hookd up to coputer netwrks 25 Tach our children to use our tools isely 26 nclude recyling in theschools 27 Economic cnversion aproach, safe jobs and product 28 Full eployment 29 Shrink the orporations 0 Decentraization 31 Break dependance on auo 32 Develo environmenta congress AFFIRMTIVE ACTION RSOLUTIONS 1. I order to stregthen the grasroots environmntal movement: Being tha: -Minoriy communites are most likly to be targetd for hazardous
wastes and industry -Minority communities are impacted by a racist corporate community rity communities are among the most powerless due to lack of
education and political power -Minority groups are under represented in the environmentalnt 2. Be it resolved -Participation by minority people be encouraged and recognized Gop huld cultivate minority leadership through scholarships,
featuring minority keynote speakers, increased workshop orientation
to minorities -Actively coordinate the recruitment and involvement of minority
leadership 3. National environmental movement can act to increase minority
involvement in the following ways -Be sensitive to other issues impacting minority communi -Provide direct support and resources to struggles in local minority
communities -Provide education on minority issues -Hire national coordinators to assority participation and
support
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