ORGANIZATION     ISSUES     MONEY/POLITICS     NEWS     INDEX

  

electric competition pollution prevention pesticides

Clinton-Gore failures on dioxin

Greenpeace 1. Failed promises on incineration December, 1991: In a taped interview with the League of Conservation Voters, Presidential candidate Bill Clinton pledged his support for a moratorium on "new garbage and hazardous waste incinerators." July 19, 1992: Candidates Clinton and Gore pledge to stop the WTI, the world’s largest hazardous waste incinerator, being built 1,100 feet from an elementary school in East Liverpool, Ohio. December 7, 1992: Vice President-elect Gore issues statement, reported on the front page of the New York Times, saying the U.S. EPA will not grant a permit to the WTI incinerator unless is proven safe. May, 1993: Clinton-Gore EPA calls for an 18-month "freeze" on new hazardous waste incinerators. Realities April, 1993: Clinton-Gore EPA issues operators permit for WTI after overturning citizens suit in federal court which issued a temporary restraining order. August, 1993: Clinton-Gore EPA abandons hazardous waste incinerator "freeze." By 1996 they retreated to weaker dioxin regulations than major European countries (Germany, Holland & Sweden) due in 1998. Other hazardous waste incinerators (boilers and furnaces at PVC factories) will not be regulated until 1999 or later. October, 1995: Clinton-Gore EPA abandons garbage incinerator moratorium and recycling alternatives and opts for much weaker dioxin regulations than major European countries (Germany, Holland, Sweden). September 13, 1994: Clinton EPA releases draft "dioxin reassessment," initiated by Bush Administration in 1991, saying "The Agency will conclude the reassessment later in 1995 incorporating appropriate changes that have been indicated by the public comments and the SAB reveiw." --- the earliest the reassessment is now expected to be completed is later in the year 2000. Agency insiders say the reassessment has been "deprioritized." March, 1996: Clinton-Gore EPA reverses a 17-year ban on the import of dioxin-like PCB wastes to be incinerated in the U.S. June, 1997: Clinton-Gore EPA sends hospital waste incinerator regulations to the White House that were ten fold weaker than the U.S. EPA’s weak hazardous waste incinerator regulations and fails to mandate pollution prevention alternatives. 2. Dioxin and pulp & paper regulations July, 1993: Clinton-Gore White House proposes government purchasing of 'totally chlorine-free' paper. December, 1993: Clinton-Gore proposes a pulp and paper "cluster rule" that would begin moving the industry away from dioxin producing chlorine based bleaching. Realities October, 1993: Clinton Gore White House abandons proposal to begin government purchasing of totally chlorine-free paper. June, 1997: Clinton-Gore EPA abandons 1993 position on pulp and paper regulations and sends pro-industry rule to the White House for final approval. This rule especially fails to protect low income African American and Native American communities who rely on fish contaminated with dioxin from these mills for their diet. 3. Clean Water Act flip-flop on dioxin February, 1994: Clinton-Gore EPA proposes phase-out study of dioxin producing uses of chlorine, including PVC plastics, paper bleaching and solvents as part of the Administration’s Clean Water Act proposal. 1994-1996: Clinton-Gore EPA abandons chlorine phase-out study under pressure from the chemical industry.