The chlorine leaving group isotope effect has been measured for the base-promoted elimination reaction of 1-(2-chloro-2-propyl) indene (1-Cl) in methanol at 30° C: k 35/k 37= 1.0086±0.0007 with methoxide as the base and k 35/k 37= 1.0101±0.0001 with triethylamine (TEA) as the base. These very large chlorine isotope effects combined with large kinetic deuterium isotope effects of 7.1 and 8.4, respectively, are consistent not with ...