7000 in S.F. march say 'No!' to attacks on abortion rights

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DEFENGE HOTLINE 29 851-1000 Socialist Action today!

A monthly newspaper with a working class L Introductory offer: $3 for 6 months SOCIALIST ACTION NOVEMBER 1991 3 grounded prediction that the U.S. government will overturn the historic Roe v. Wade decision soon.

Many of the participants in the march were young women who were born after the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. For them, the right to choose is an inalienable right and the government's anti-women policies are having profound consequences for them. They are unwilling see a democratic right they have taken for granted whittled away or lost.

Indeed, the major rallying cry of the march was: "We Won't Go Back!" as the vocal participants carried placards with slogans that ranged from ""My Body, My Choice," and "Abort the Court!" to "Keep Your Laws Off My Body."

Many of the contingents in the march came from Bay Area college campuses, including the University of California, Berkeley; San Francisco State University; San Francisco City College; and many others.

Many sidewalk passers-by applauded the demonstrators as they strode up Market Street through the major shopping area. Some joined the march at the urging of participants.

Pro-Choice Coalition organizers were elated at the success of the demonstration. But while they had been confident of success, the action was handicapped by the stand-offish attitude exhibited by the San Francisco chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), California Abortion Rights Action TUN League (the Calif. NARAL affiliate), and Planned Parenthood. Despite their initial vote in favor of the event, CARAL and Planned Parenthood • refused to lend their endorsement. And S.F. NOW didn't endorse the action until the week before Oct. 5. One explanation for this is that these organizations are involved in local election campaigns or lobbying efforts and seem to view street mobilizations as conflicting with their electoral projects.

Undoubtedly, if these organizations had enthusiastically thrown their weight behind the demonstration it would have been much larger.

Luckily, several other Bay Area NOW chapters, such as East Bay NOW, worked very hard to build the action and bring people to it.

The success of the October 5 march and the angry response to the Thomas confirmation mean that prospects for organizing much larger mobilizations for women's rights look bright. This could mean a huge turnout for NOW's national March on Washington scheduled for April 5, 1992.

Name Address City State Zip Phone Union/Organ.

return to: Socialist Action, 3435 Army St., San Francisco, CA 94110. (415) 821-0458

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*Toxic jobs or no jobs is not a fair choice for any community DEATH U.S. officials go shopping for nuclear dump East Liverpool, a small Southeastern Ohio town on the banks of the Ohio River opposite Chester, West Virginia, is in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The community's residents have been hard hit by the downturn in Ohio coal production and the closing of many nearby factories. In 1979, a new plant decided to locate in East LiverpoolWaste Technologies Industries (WTI):

WTI is building the largest hazardous waste incinerator in the world in East Liverpool. Its planned annual output of 352 million pounds of hazardous waste makes it five times larger than the average commercial hazardous waste incinerator.

During optimal performance, WTI will spew out 4.7 tons of lead and thousands of pounds of dioxins, furans, PCBs, and other cancer-causing substances each year. Up to 100,000 tons of inorganic waste will be stored on the site. Tons of toxic ash will be produced as a byproduct.

While Ohio Gov. George V. Voinovich has refused to reconsider the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) operating permit given to WTI in 1984, and some local officials have proclaimed the positive features of new community investment, growing numbers of local residents have taken to the streets to make sure this plant never opens. They assert, "Toxic jobs or no jobs is not a fair choice for any community."

On May 10, 1990, EPA spokesman William Sanjour admitted: "Commercial hazardous waste management facilities do not bring about industrial growth; rather, they tend to depress any area in which they are located, from the point of view of economics, public health, the environment, and morale."

In granting the permit, the EPA claimed that risks from a well-managed commercial hazardous waste incinerator are minimal. When questioned by concerned local residents, however, EPA spokespeople were unable to cite a single one of the 17 commercial hazardous waste incinerators that meet their minimal criteria for a well-managed facility.

In fact, Chemical Waste Management, the company which will deliver the waste and landfill the toxic ash, has been fined nearly $10 million for violations at a Chicago incinerator that exploded in February.

WTI's permits will enable it to burn hazardous commercial waste from all 50 states and abroad. The trucks and trains which will transport this waste must pass through residential areas.

Located in watershed

Residents are particularly concerned about the location of this incinerator. It sits in a flood plain along the Ohio River.

Some of the waste will be transported by barge. Since the Ohio River serves as a source of drinking water for many communities in Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky, the potential for disaster is great.

Two schools, 150 homes, and several businesses are located within 2000 feet of the incinerator. An elementary school, only 1100 feet away, is directly level with WTI's smokestacks.

Children are especially susceptible to lead and other deadly chemicals. When parents complained about their children being forced to breath in the toxic fumes, Gov.

Voinovich offered to conduct background health tests on the students. But angry parents assert they will not allow their children to serve as guinea pigs to monitor the deadly effects of various poison gases.

Although most area residents first became concerned over the health risks WTI poses to their families, further study has led many to conclude that this "landfill in the sky," as they dub WTI, shouldn't be built anywhere. Pointing to WTI's outdated technology, Richard Sahli, former deputy director of the Ohio EPA, stated, "This specific facility should not be sited anywhere in the U.S."

Although WTI's construction is nearly completed and operation is scheduled to begin in November, residents feel confident they can mount a large enough campaign to prevent the plant from going on line.

They point to several recent successes won through large-scale community opposition. In 1990, an incinerator in Braintree, Mass., was defeated because it was too close to populated areas. In 1990, the GSX facility in Cleveland was shut down. In 1991, two Pennsylvania commercial hazardous waste proposals were rejected. In 1991, the state of Arizona stopped construction of two incinerators after they were almost completed.

"WTI Spells Death"

On Sunday, Oct.13, over 1000 people turned out to demand, "Stop WTI!" Skull and crossbones signs with the slogan, "WTI Spells Death," dotted the crowd.

A busload of students came from West Virginia University. Youngstown, Toledo, Columbus, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh sent small delegations. Most of the participants, however, were from East Liverpool and nearby small towns in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Many protesters brought their children. Some carried signs with pictures of their children, bearing the message, "Don't Waste Our Future." The lead banner, "Prevent Child Abuse, Impeach Voinovich," expressed the commonly felt outrage over the "loaded gun pointed at every child's head in the Tri-State area of Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennylvania."

Community support was evident throughout the mile-long march. A number of homes along the way bore anti-WTI placards. Many residents stood on their porches, cheering the protesters. Some decided to join in the march as it went by their homes. The only pro-WTI sign was on the Columbiana County Port Authority building where the rally was held.

Many local residents angrily declared that the only reason the EPA and state of Ohio allowed WTI to construct this incinerator in East Liverpool was because they felt the "dumb hillbillies" there wouldn't say anything. They vowed that they "won't die for WTI" and that they will continue to speak out until the plant is permanently closed.

After a two-hour rally, actor Martin Sheen led 35 local residents in a planned civil disobedience action on WTI property. Protesters viewed this as a way to secure national publicity for their demands.

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WTI Spells