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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1981)
Page 8 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1981 State ,|J Thallium poisoning in SMU art department ruled out United Press Internationa] DALLAS — A medical task force investigating a strange illness that struck six Southern Methodist University art students reported Tuesday it could not find what caused the attacks and concluded whatever it was, it is gone now. The task force issued a statement saying exhaus tive searches were performed to find foreign ele ments in the SMU art laboratories but that nothing surfaced that could have caused the illness. “The students have continued to be followed as out-patients on a regular basis and have shown con sistent improvement,” the task force report said. “This suggests to us, since there have been no further cases discovered and that those who became ill are improving, that there was a ‘point exposure’ to a toxic agent that is not present on a continuing basis.” The first case was reported in November by a female art student who complained of hair loss, anxi ety and peripheral neuropathy (numbness in the hands and feet). Following that report, three other art students were found to be complaining of the same symptoms. Another two art students also were discovered to be suffering from similar but milder symptoms. The first student reporting the illness has since left school. “An inspection of the Department of Art facilities was performed on a room-to-room basis, including collection of numerous samples for toxicologic analy sis,” the task force report said. “Because hair loss and peripheral neuropathies are associated with thallium poisoning, thallium as well as other heavy metals were particularly looked for. Biologic samples were also obtained from the pa tients and underwent extensive toxicologic anal yses. Although additional tests are being per formed, in no instance has thallium or other poison been found.” The report also criticized the news media tor allegedly distorting the story. “Symptoms are not similar to Legionnaires’ dis ease, and there is no information that fingernails have fallen off of any of the students,” thereportsu criticizing early reports. “Because of the absenui new cases and the absence of detection of any I® agent, there is no evidence to suggest that there} hazard in the Department of Art at SMU at! present time; or that the illnesses that appeared« caused by a toxic agent in the SMU Departmeil! Art.” The report said samples would continue taken in an effort to discover what caused thelllta Father says Pollock used drugs legally United Press International SAN ANTONIO — The father of a physician found shot to death in San Antonio said Tuesday his son was in ternationally known for his study of molds and was using mushrooms in research toward finding a cure for bronchial asthma and to assist autis tic children. Police — claiming that tests re vealed the mushrooms contained hallucinogen — obtained a search warrnt Monday and confiscated dozens of containers of mushrooms from the home where the body of Dr. Steven H. Pollock was disco vered late Saturday. Drug Enforcement Agency offic- als have confirmed that the doctor’s practice is being investigated Tby loc al law enforcement officers, the DEA, the Department of Public Safety, the State Board of Medical Examiners and the Texas Pharmacy Board, particularly in connection with the writing of prescriptions. Walter Pollock, a real estate de veloper-contractor from Los Angeles, said there was nothing illegal about his son’s possessing the mushrooms and added that he was extremely upset with officers for hauling away the research projects. “Police are holding them illegal ly,” he said, “and all of his research experiments are dying. They have killed 10 years of research.” Investigators said Tuesday they had made no arrests in the slaying of the 33-year-old doctor, who was dis covered on the floor of the fashion able home. He had been shot once in the back of his head with a large- caliber weapon, police said. The doorknob had been ripped from the front door and furnishings inside overturned and wrecked. “He was working on a cure for bronchial asthma and a project to help autistic children,” the father said. “He was definitely engaged in research projects and was an interna tional figure in the field of mycolo gy,” the study of molds. But an advertisment in “High Times” magazine offers mushroom growing kits from the Hidden Creek Magic Mushroom Farm, which is be lieved to be the greenhouse in Dr. Pollock’s back yard. The advertisement in the national magazine offers a variety of mushroom kits containing several varieties of mushrooms and a book entitled “Magic Mushroom Cultiva tion” by Dr. Steven M. Pollock. The ad describes Hidden Creek as “the magic mushrooom people who are forever keeping your mind in mind. ” But the question of mushroom growing and selling apparently is of secondary concern to authorities probing Pollock’s alleged writing of prescriptions. A San Antonio pharmacist said Pollock was being pressured by loc al, state and federal law enforcement agencies to stop the alleged large- scale writing of prescriptions. Craig Bell, president of the Bexar County Pharmaceutical Association, said Monday: “I heard they went in and said ‘you can’t have this practice, you have to quit,’ or they were going to put him away (in jail).” The pharmacist said he “found it strange his (Pollock’s) patients needed that much Schedule 2 drugs, which are the most habituating and addicting. ” White asked to take action in Gulf feud United Press International AUSTIN — A South Texas legisla tor Tuesday asked Attorney General Mark White to take swift and firm measures to prevent the Ku Klux Klan from provoking violence be tween Texas and Vietnamese fisher men along the Texas Gulf Coast. Rep. Arnold Gonzales, D-Corpus Christi, asked White to investigate allegations the Klan had offered to destroy boats belonging to the Viet namese fishermen near Rockport, and also to investigate a so-called “survival camp” operated by the Klan near Fort Worth. “We cannot have this marauding band of vigilantes serving as a catalyst for violence between these two groups of fishermen. To over look the KKK’s intervention would be to allow a potentially riotous situa tion to brew in our own backyard,” Gonzales said in his letter to the attorney general. “Recent developments in this situation dictate that swift, firm mea sures be taken to avoid any vio-/ lence.” INFLATION FIGHTING ON YOUR FAVORITE SAFEWAY BRANDS THIS WEEK AT SAFEWAY! r BlossomVi Time Homo Milk See How You Save at This Low, Low Price! Town House " Dill Pickles Quality Hamburger Chips, A Safeway Special... Only FINEST FROZEN FOODS! Fried Chicken Manor House, Assort. Pieces 2 Lb. Frozen Box Bel-air Pizzas Frozen, Assorted 13 Oz. 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