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The Battalion
Serving the Texas A&M University community
Vol. 73 No. 161
12 Pages
Wednesday, June 11,1980
College Station, Texas
US PS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
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by BECKY SWANSON
Battalion Staff
Agricultural and medical research in Texas will be greatly
mpered or discontinued if the Legislature does not pro-
de for handling and disposal of low-level nuclear waste.
This was the message that university and medical repre-
ntatives delivered to the Texas House Subcommittee on
ow-level Nuclear Waste Disposal at a public hearing held
Texas A&M University Tuesday,
more deli The subcommitte of the House Environmental Affairs
ommittee was conducting a fact-finding session to deter-
ine the need for an in-state disposal site for low-level
dear waste.
The subcommittee heard over two hours of testimony
om Texas university and medical research officials and
ivate citizens, most whom urged the passage of a bill
lowing for construction of a facility to dispose of low-level
dear waste from Texas schools and medical facilities.
Rep. Ron Bird, D-San Antonio, chairman of the three-
lember subcommittee, said there has been talk that if
exas does not take action to dispose of the waste, the
deral government may establish a nationwide dump site
iTexas.
Bird told reporters that Texans have historically resisted
lyland mass regulation, such as strip mining regulation or
azardous (toxic) waste disposal regulation, until the threat
federal intervention arises.
Texas has been studied as a possible site for nuclear waste
isposal because of the attractiveness of Gulf Coast and
rest Texas salt domes.
Dr. Robert Bernstein, commissioner of the Texas De-
artment of Health, said that the threat of federal interven
tion would be lessened if the Legislature takes steps to
provide for handling and disposal of low-level nuclear
wastes.
Scientists and educators expressed their concern during
the hearing over the closing of Todd Shipyards in Galves
ton, a temporary storage facility for low-level nuclear
waste, and the impending closing of the permanent dispos
al site in Washington state, one of three in the nation.
The researchers say this will make it difficult for research
facilities to dispose of the large bulk of low-level radioactive
waste created by research projects.
Most of the bulk consists of flammable liquids in small
glass vials, syringes, gloves, animal carcasses and paper
used to line counter tops.
The scientists stressed that although the bulk of the
materials needing disposal was high, the amount of radia
tion was small.
Will Ivie, director of radiation safety at the University of
Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, said his facility
created a total volume of 44,010 cubic feet of low-level
radioactive waste last year, filling 600 55-gallon drums, and
the total amount of radioactivity disposed of was 2.5 curies.
The Texas Department of Health has set the level of
acceptability in its proposed legislation at five curies per
gram of material.
Ivie said the cost of disposal of these wastes was about
$66,000 because of the increased cost of hauling them to
out-of-state dump sites.
Dr. Richard Neff, professor of nuclear science and radia
tion safety officer at Texas A&M University, said the cost for
disposal of low-level radioactive waste for the University
was about $27,000 last year, but it could reach $60,000 this
year — provided disposal sources can be found.
“Texas A&M has temporarily curtailed the handling of
radioactive waste from research laboratories. If commercial
waste disposal is curtailed or discontinued, it will be neces
sary either to construct and operate a processing and stor
age facility to dispose of waste locally, or suspend all re
search involving radioactive materials,” Neff said.
Suspension of research using radioactive tracers —
radioactive materials that concentrate in specific tissues to
aid in studying the organ or system — could cause serious
setbacks in medical and agricultural research, the resear
chers emphasized.
Texas A&M spends nearly $10 million annually on re
search using radioactive materials, representing about 14
percent of the University’s total research expenditures and
involving about 700 students, scientists and engineers, Neff
said.
Some controversy over the definition of “low-level” nuc
lear waste arose during the hearing. The definition given in
a draft legislation proposed by the Texas Department of
Health provides that the radioactive material not have a
half-life of more than 100 years or a concentration of five
curies per gram of material.
A half-life is the length of time it takes for a specific
radioactive material to lose half its radioactivity.
John Stiles, a former senior field construction engineer
who said he had worked on nuclear power plant construc
tion, said the definition would allow some materials that
were highly radioactive, but which had short half-lives to be
stored in the state.
Stiles said that the “or” in the definition allowed an
escape of the intended regulation.
Judge rules Justice Dept, ‘too late’
Suburban districts left out of suit
United Press International
HOUSTON — A federal judge Tuesday
enied a Justice Department motion to in-
lude 22 suburban school districts in the
louston desegregation lawsuit, saying it
fas too late for the department to throw
tk gauntlet down” in the 23-year-old suit.
U.S. District Judge Robert O’Conor Jr.
urned down the department’s claim that
here had not been sufficient desegregation
ince the original suit was filed two decades
against the Houston Independent
School District.
O’Conor said the department had waited
far too long to alter its case and he objected
to the department’s attempt to change its
position “from a passive supplier of infor
mation to that of a warrior-litigant suing all
who are close to the legal battle zone.”
The Justice Department maintains that
since the original suit was filed whites have
fled to the suburbs to populate school dis
tricts not named in the suit, leaving HISD
U.S. Senate releases
staffpayroll figures
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Those silver-
tongued orators in the Senate are
paying their best assistants gold-
plated wages.
Semi-annual payroll records re
leased Monday show 161 Senate
aides earn more than $50,000
annually. The senators themselves
earn slighly more than $60,000.
Most of the increase was due to a
5.5 percent cost-of-living raise that
took effect last Oct. 1, raising the
maximum senatorial aide salary from
$49,970 to $52,686.
The payroll records were for the
six months between October 1979
and March 1980.
Forty-eight aides who work for the
Senate or for its committees are paid
more than the senatorial staff ceiling.
Below the $50,000 level are several
hundred of the approximately 7,000
Senate employees who earn more
than $40,000.
The three highest paid officials, at
$55,386 a year, are Secretary of the
Senate J. Stanley Kimmitt,
Sergeant-at-arms F. Nordy Hoff
mann and legal counsel Michael
Davidson. Right behind them at
$54,860 are majority secretary J.
Walter Stewart and minority secret
ary William Hildenbrand.
Among the others topping $54,000
are Deputy Sergeant-at-arms Mello
G. Fish; Senate Republican Leader
Howard Baker’s top aide, James
Cannon; parliamentarian Murray
Zweben; financial clerk Robert Mal-
strom, who is in charge of the report;
and five legal aides.
There were 32 committee aides
and 26 senatorial assistants making
more than $52,000. Also at that level
are four men and two women who
take down every word of floor debate
in shorthand or on stenographic
machines.
with a more than 75 percent minority en
rollment.
O’Conor said, however, additional de
fendants in the case now would only hinder
progress that already has been made.
The government also had sought to in
clude the Texas Education Agency, the
Harris County Department of Education
and the City of Houston as defendants.
“The addition of tfre proposed 26 defen
dants not only would inject as many more
issues into an already complex case, but
would also increase the discovery burdens
upon all litigants,” O’Connor said in a 12-
page written ruling.
He added that “because the joinder of
more defendants would introduce addi
tional complicated issues into an already
complicated case and because the addition
al investigation and litigation of the new
issues would delay the resolution of the
case” he ruled against it.
He said expanding the case at this point
“conceivably could extend this litigation
from 3 to 30 years.”
The Justice Department filed the suit
against the HISD in 1956 and with the
latest motion filed May 15 said it was not
happy with desegregation progress.
The Supreme Court earlier in May had
rejected a Justice Department plan for an
Atlanta busing plan that would have trans
ported students across school district lines
to achieve integration goals.
Glis Koepline is one of the 550 local General Telephone workers on strike
against the phone company since mid-May, who’ll be going back to work
soon. The Communications Workers of America and GTE reached a
Contract Settlement Tuesday. Staff photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr.
Local GTE strike
ends on time
Tenured positions
vanishing, official says
United Press International
AUSTIN — Texas’ optional retirement
system encourages college professors to
hang onto their jobs as long as possible and
makes it exceedingly difficult for new
young teachers to win permanent posts on
the state’s college campuses, officials said
Tuesday.
Rep. Gary Thompson, D-Abilene, said
Texas needs to do something about the
problem before declining enrollments
force staff cutbacks and further complicate
the situation.
Thompson heads a House subcommittee
studying college faculty tenure that held a
hearing Tuesday on how to encourage early
retirement among professors.
“Most universities have leveling enroll
ments and in some cases declining enroll
ments,” Thompson said. “This means few
er and fewer newly minted Ph. D’s are find
ing tenured positions.
Thompson said some young teachers are
forced to become “academic gypsies” mov
ing from one campus to another because all
permanent posts are taken by older profes-
Leonard Prewitt, executive director of
the Teacher Retirement System, said the
state’s pension plan encourages early re
tirement for public school personnel and
college professors who opt to participate in
the plan.
Most professors, however, choose the
Optional Retirement System and that plan
discourages early retirement, Prewitt said.
Prewitt suggested more school teachers
and college professors would retire under
both plans if the Legislature indexed be
nefits to adjust pensions for inflation.
“The greatest deterrent (to retirement) is
the fear that the inflation trend in the eco
nomy will erode their purchasing power if
they retire too early,” Prewitt said.
by CATHY SAATHOFF
Battalion Staff
Although plans are being made for all
striking phone company workers to be back
on the job by the start of next month, it will
take two weeks before company officials
know if their settlement offer has been
accepted by the union.
Bill Erwin, division manager for GTE,
said that details of the settlement have not
been disclosed, but that workers will begin
returning to work this weekend.
“They did reach a settlement,” Erwin
said Tuesday. “At this time that’s all we
know. ”
Talks began Friday with federal
mediator Vincent Guy, and after 15 hours
of talks, a tentative agreement was
reached.
“The union will now start the ratification
process,” Erwin said.
Ballots are being mailed to members,
and it will take about two weeks for the
results to be computed.
Meanwhile, local workers will begin re
turning to work Sunday.
“We will have an orderly return to work
by seniority,” Erwin said.
Workers must return to work in phases,
he said, to allow work schedules to be set
up. Otherwise, he said, all the workers
would return and not know where they
should be.
The strike officially ended at 12:01 a.m.
this morning.
All workers should be back at work by
Monday, June 30, Erwin said.
The strike, which was over salary de
mands and worker benefits, affected about
400 Bryan-College Station residents, and
left the community with a squeeze in phone
service. Erwin said GTE’s main priority
during the strike was emergency service.
There were delays even in this, however,
since many jobs were handled by manage
ment-level personnel during the strike.
The Weather
Yesterday
High
87
Low
66
Humidity
52%
Rain
0.00 inches
Today
High
90
Low
68
Humidity. . . . .
60%
Chance of rain
none
Pest control helps Adkisson reap crop of awards
by DEBBIE NELSON
Battalion Staff
The man seems more than a little surprised by it all.
Dr. Perry L. Adkisson, deputy chancellor for agriculture for
the Texas A&M University System, was honored with three
major scientific awards in one month’s time.
Most recently, Adkisson won the 1980 Alexander von Hum
boldt Award for making the outstanding contribution to Amer
ican agriculture during the past five years. The award, Adkis-
son’s research in integrated pest management, included
$10,000 and a gold medal.
Research and extension work in entomology (the study of
insects) have been Adkisson’s specialty since he came to Texas
A&M as an associate professor in 1958.
He is recognized as a major contributor to the development
of integrated pest management, a method which employs the
best features of chemical, biological and cultural control prac
tices to protect crops.
Other honors recently bestowed on Adkisson are his induc
tion into the National Academy of Sciences in April and his
announcement as the recipient of Kansas State University’s
Distinguished Alumnus Award for Service to Agriculture in
May.
Adkisson expressed surprise and pleasure in the awards,
especially on election to the Academy, a highly selective advis
ory group to the President and Congress, which awards life
time membership.
“I never dreamed I’d be elected to the National Academy of
Sciences,” Adkisson said. “There are very few agriculture
scientists in the Academy — maybe half a dozen. Certainly no
more than 12.
“So if you are in agriculture, your chances are slim. There
has never been anyone elected from Texas A&M before. ”
Adkisson’s induction ceremony took him to Washington,.
D.C. Slightly over 1,200 American scientists belong to the
Academy, with a maximum of 60 new members inducted
yearly.
Members of the academy serve on committees for the Na
tional Research Council. At government request, Adkisson
had previously served on the committee for world food and
nutrition and crop protection.
Adkisson said Texas A&M’s pest management program, in
which the Agriculture Extension Service has been more ac
tive, is “a highly effective program which serves as a model for
the rest of the U.S.”
In the late 1960’s, Adkisson explained, the United States,
including Texas, had severe problems with insects, which
were becoming resistant to chemicals.
Interest groups were protesting the use of DDT or even
working to legislate pesticides out of existence.
The integrated pest management research which followed
saves U.S. farmers millions of dollars in yearly insecticides and
involves:
— developing pest-resistant cotton varieties which resist or
escape insect damage.
— conserving beneficials — insects not harmful to crops —
by finding more selective chemical insecticides and the best
time to apply them.
— reducing the vulnerability of crops to plant disease.
— utliizing better management of irrigation.
Although he has been termed a pioneer of integrated pest
management, Adkisson said he was trained in the concept at
the University of Arkansas, where he received both his bache
lor’s and master’s degrees.
He applied these techniques in active entomological re
search when he came to Texas A&M 23 years ago.
From 1958-1967, Adkisson said, he was Texas A&M’s pro
ject leader in cotton insect research. He worked with numer
ous graduate students and taught insect ecology.
In 1967, Adkisson was named head of Texas A&M’s en
tomology department, where he directed funds and labor to
pest management research.
With a 1978 promotion, Adkisson became vice president for
agriculture for Texas A&M University. His title was changed
to deputy chancellor of agriculture on April 1.
Travel, even international travel is common for Adkisson. As
advisor for the United States Agency for International De
velopment, he recently travelled to Kenya for an international
conference on sorghum insects and to Italy for a conference
sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation on future problems
in crop protection.
Overseas universities frequently invite Adkisson to lecture
on biological control of insects and proper use of pesticides.
Adkisson, who lives in Bryan with his wife, Frances, com
mented on the changes that have taken place in American
agriculture since his birth. His grandfather had as many as 20
families picking and chopping cotton on the family farm in
Arkansas that today is run by his brother and one other man.
“When I started college in 1946, 25-30 percent of Americans
lived on farms. There is only about 4 percent on the farm now, ”
Adkisson said.
Adkisson predicted, “The next generation will see drastic
changes in American agriculture based on the need for cheap
energy.”
“Something’s got to give,” he said.
One member of the next generation who may come up with
some answers to the growing problems of agriculture is Adkis
son’s daughter, Amanda, a second year graduate student in
animal science at Texas A&M, with a bachelor’s degree in
entomology.
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