A publication of Work On Waste USA, Inc., 82 Judson, Canton, NY 13617 315-379-9200 JANUARY 1996




TIME FOR ACTION:
The 3rd Citizens’ Conference on Dioxin
& Other Synthetic Hormone Disrupters
March 15-17, 1996,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana


On March 15 through 17, 1996, a TIME FOR ACTION: The 3rd Citizens’ Conference on Dioxin and other Synthetic Hormone Disrupters will take place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This conference will not only educate on the science and politics of dioxin, but also engage all participants in the designing of strategic campaigns they can take back to their communities.

By the end of the conference, there will be several hundred activists poised to build or expand “stop dioxin exposure” campaigns in their own communities. These conference participants will not only have a set of strategic tools to incorporate into their work at home, but also a direct connection to campaigns in other communities. The titles of the plenary sessions and the workshops are listed in WN # 355. A complete conference agenda will be mailed to you before the end of January.

No one pretends that getting dioxin out of our food and our children’s bodies is going to be easy. We know that we are up against huge corporate power. But tackling the misuse of corporate power is what the 21st century is going to be about. This is a good place to start. But we need all the help we can get.

Please set aside the dates of March 15, 16, 17, 1996. Please get your organization to add its name and financial support to the list at the bottom of this letter. As the conference brochure is ‘under construction,’ we need to know by JANUARY 20th if you or your group want to be listed as a CONFERENCE CO-SPONSOR. (See WN # 355 for the Agenda & co-sponsor sign-up sheet.)

Together we can make a TIME FOR ACTION into the launchpad for an expanded, strengthened movement that stops the sources of dioxin exposure, reclaims our health and restores democracy.

We hope to see you in Louisiana in March and hope that your group will agree to be a co-sponsor.

The Conference Organizing Committee

Charlotte Brody Citizens Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste 703-237-2249 Falls Church, VA

Angela Brown Youth Task Force 404-876-5443 Atlanta, GA

Pat Bryant Gulf Coast Tenants Organization 504-949-4919 New Orleans, LA

Leslie Byster Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition 408-287-6707 San Jose, CA

Jackie Hunt Christensen Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy 612-379-5980 Minneapolis, MN

Gary Cohen The Learning Alliance 617-524-6018 Jamaica Plain, MA

Ellen and Paul Connett Waste Not 315-379-9200 Canton, NY

Colleen Cooney Ontario Coalition to Stop the Burn 705-686-7457 Ontario, Canada

Charlie Cray Greenpeace 312-563-6060 Chicago, IL

Ken Deal Vietnam Veterans of America 908-636-9059 Woodbridge, NJ

Billie Elmore NC Waste Awareness & Reduction Network 919-774-9566 Sanford, NC

Judy Enck New York Public Interest Research Group 518-436-0876 Albany, NY

Willie Fontenot LEAN (Louisiana Environmental Action Network) 504-342-7900 Baton Rouge, LA

Nina Laboy South Bronx Clean Air Coalition 718-365-5071 Bronx, NY

Peter Montague/Maria Pellerano Environmental Research Foundation 410-263-1584 Annapolis, MD

Ron Nixon Institute for Southern Studies 919-419-8311 Durham, NC

Mary O’Brien Environmental Research Foundation 541-485-6886 Eugene, OR

Mary Lee Orr LEAN (Louisiana Environmental Action Network) 504-928-1315 Baton Rouge, LA

Florence Robinson North Baton Rouge Environmental Assoc. 504-775-0341 Baton Rouge, LA

Terri Swearingen Tri-State Environmental Council 304-387-0574 Chester, WV

Connie Tucker Southern Organizing Committee 404-755-2855 Atlanta, GA

Jackie Warledo Indigenous Environmental Network 918-743-6530 Tulsa, OK

Jim Warren NC Waste Awareness & Reduction Network 919-490-0747 Durham, NC

Tom Webster Boston University, School of Public Health 617-638-4641 Boston, MA

LEAN are the hosts of the 3rd Citizens’ Conference and in charge of all the logistics in Baton Rouge.

The conference will take place at the Hilton Hotel. Mary Lee Orr and her team at LEAN are making the arrangements for a package deal that will include

(1) meals & lodging at the hotel; & (2) alternative accommodations for those who need a reduced price.

Registration for the conference will be $25 for activists, environmentalists, Vietnam Vets and public interest group members. Regulatory officials, $500. All for-profits, $1,000.

We hope that we will be able to raise equal funding from activist/environmental groups and foundations.


P.S. You can get a great jump-start on the conference agenda by reading


Dying From Dioxin by Lois Gibbs and the Citizens Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste.

See review in Waste Not # 356.

The History of the Citizens’ Conference on Dioxin:

Paul and Ellen Connett, Tom Webster and Billie Elmore of NC WARN initiated the Citizens’ Conference on Dioxin to expose the efforts of industrial and government officials to downplay the dangers of dioxin and related compounds. The conferences allowed an exchange of information among the victims of dioxin, activists and scientists and the general public. Up until the 1st Conference this never happened. The 1st Citizens’ Conference on Dioxin (Sept. 1991, Chapel Hill, NC) summarized the impacts of dioxin and related compounds on human health and the environment. The 2nd Citizens’ Conference (July 1994, St. Louis, MO) was held in response to the intense efforts by industrial lobbies to undermine the findings of the EPA’s Reassessment of Dioxin. Among those who have made presentations at the 1st and 2nd conferences: Dr. Barry Commoner, Admiral Zumwalt, Dr. Mary O’Brien, Pat Costner, Dr. Peter Montague, Dr. George Lucier (NIEHS) Dr. Vyvyan Howard (U.K.), Dr. Peter Kahn, Dr. Arnold Schecter, Dr. Richard Clapp, Dr. Yanna Koppe (Holland), Dr. Lennart Hardell and Dr. Mikael Eriksson (Sweden), Dr. Kees Olie (Holland), Dr. Otmar Wasserman (Germany), Dr. Roland Knebusch (Germany), Dr.Alistair Hay (U.K.), Dr. Donati, M.D. (Seveso, Italy), Dr. Deborah Wallace, Carol Van Strum, Lois Gibbs, Gerson Smoger, Charlie Cray, Joe Thornton, George Claxton, Dick Christian, and many more. Approximately 300 people attended each conference. (see WN#s 160,162,165,228,229,281,282,296,297,298.)

The 3rd Citizens’ Conference on Dioxin will be different from the others in the far greater breath of the organizing committee and the emphasis on developing a very broad based campaign to get dioxin out of our bodies and chlorine out of the economy. The organizers are very much aware that such a campaign will not work unless a serious commitment is made to both environmental and economic justice.


WASTE NOT # 354. A publication of Work on Waste USA, published 48 times a year. Annual rates are: Groups & Non-Profits $50; Students & Seniors $35; Individual $40; Consultants & For-Profits $125; Canadian $US50; Overseas $70.

Editors: Ellen & Paul Connett, 82 Judson Street, Canton, New York 13617. Tel: 315-379-9200. Fax: 315-379-0448.