The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, January 26, 1983, Image 16

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    national
Battalion/Pf!
January 26,
Warped
by Scott McCullar
More ‘space junk’
falls toward Earth Ir76 “
Louisiana water now safe
Poison threat confirmed
United Press International
WASHINGTON — A 2,000-
pound hunk of space junk con
taining the nuclear reactor of a
Soviet spy satellite is falling to
ward Earth at a rate of 3 miles a
day, and is expected to enter the
atmosphere between Feb. 5 and
Feb. 13, Pentagon sources said
Tuesday.
The reactor section, which
also contains 110 pounds of
Uranium-235 and other
radioactive matter, is following
the same course as that followed
by a heavier segment of Cosmos
1402, which burned up over the
Indian Ocean Sunday, the
sources said.
The reactor section is in an
orbit 125 miles to 132 miles
above Earth, they said.
Because of the inclination of
the orbit and the spin of Earth,
the path of the radioactive de
bris covers the globe’s entire
land mass from the Arctic to the
Antarctic circles.
Scientists say that the reactor
and nuclear fuel segment of the
Soviet surveillance spacecraft
“most likely” will be burned up
by friction when it enters the
atmosphere as the heavier sec
tion, which contained radar
equipment, apparently did Sun
day.
Pentagon officials
not possible at this sta^
diet precisely whereib
will come down aft«t|
the atmosphere.
Meanwhile, they saiii
ly-equipped U.S. Aii
WC135 transports ate
over the Indian Ocg|
where the first segment
grated, to try to detect
sure fallout.
Most U.S. NavysHp^—
equipped wjjh radiaa |j|
tion equipment, theysaV
the area also
V
those in
alerted.
United Press International
NEW ORLEANS — Traces of
deadly cyanide were found in a
municipal water supply Tues
day, the first positive report af
ter five days of anonymous
threats that deprived more than
235,GOO people of water.
Mayor Debbie Pope of Ham
mond, a city of 15,000 people 50
miles northwest of New Orleans,
said she got the bad news from
an independent laboratory in
Baton Rouge about 3:30 a.m.,
minutes after the tests were
finished.
The mayor urged citizens of
Hammond not to panic. She said
the amount of cyanide found
seemed to be intentionally
placed in the system, but was too
small to be dangerous.
“A person would have to
drink about a swimming pool
full of this water to kill himself,”
she said.
The system, the latest to be
threatened with poisoning,
already was being flushed with
chlorine when the report ar
rived. Waterworks officials re
ceived a phone threat late Mon
day, prompting the series of
tests.
“They’ve done many samples
but this is the first cyanide
they've found,” Pope said. “The
labs seem to think that the chlor
ination we’re flushing through
the lines will probably eliminate
it, but we’re not sure.”
She said the traces were disco
vered through a distillation pro
cess. Testing of new water roll
ing into the system is being con
tinually sampled and tested.
More than 235,000 Louisiana
residents were deprived of wa
ter Sunday and Monday by the
latest round of anonymous
phone threats. Officials restored
water service to nearly half of
those people late Monday after
tests showed no evidence of
cyanide.
In Lake Arthur, Police Chief
Jimmy Boudreaux said a
youngster was arrested after he
called relatives and said in a dis
guised voice that “y’all have
cyanide in your water system.”
The youngster, who is under
going psychiatric treatment in a
detention home, confessed he
made the calls, Boudreaux said,
but not until after citizens were
warned not to use tap water and
schools were closed for the day.
In East Baton Rouge Parish, a
13-year-old boy was arrested
Monday afternoon after a mid
dle school received a cyanide
threat. The boy was charged
with criminal mischief and im
proper telephone communica-
tons and was released to his pa
rents, police said.
While cyanide threats, which
began last Thursday, spread
from southern Louisiana to the
North, the ordeal took a devious
twist. A caller told officials in the
town of Iowa that formaldehy
de, a disinfectant and embalm
ing fluid, was placed in its water
system.
“There were two calls,” said
Iowa Mayor Harold P. Brous
sard, who urged the town’s
2,447 residents not to use tap
water.
“One said a lot of people were
going to get real sick, and the
second said a large dose of for
maldehyde was put in the wa
ter,” he said.
Officials in Jennings, Winn-
sboro, Opelousas, Port Barre
and Washington, La., also re
ceived threats Monday, as well as
the entire parish of Lafourche
and its 100,000 residents.
More aged get
heart surgery
AEROBIC EXERCISE
Exercise all semester for just $60 —
that’s just $15 a month! — at College
Station’s finest aerobic exercise facility.
(Offer valid with current TAMU student or staff I.D.)
"Exercise as often as you like
"Classes offered seven days a week
"Convenient location
"Professionally trained instructors
Also available: One month of classes for $25
Call BODY DYNAMICS today at 696-7180 or come by our studio on Harvey Road
across from Woodstone in the Post Oak Village Shopping Center.
BODY DYNAMICS
Exercise Studio
STUDENT BOOK
United Press International
AUSTIN — Coronary artery
bypass surgery has become in
creasingly successful for certain
elderly heart patients, according
to four surgeons at Scott and
White Memorial Hospital in
Temple.
While initial studies in 1975
on patients over age 70 showed a
death rate of 22 percent soon
after surgery, the Scott and
White doctors said more recent
studies indicate an improve
ment in the survival rate.
A report by the four surgeons
was published in the January
issue of Texas Medicine, the
journal of the Austin-based
Texas Medical Association.
The physicians warned that
bypass surgery still carries a high
risk for elderly patients with de
fective left ventricles — the
heart chamber that contracts to
pump blood.
“Our experience wdth coron
ary artery bypass in patients 70
years old and older supports the
contention that the procedure
can be done in older patients
with satisfactory results,” the
surgeons said.
They added that the condi
tion of the left ventricle is the
most important consideration.
Since February 1976, Scott
and White has performed
bypass surgery in 35 patients be
tween ages 70 and 80. The arti
cle said 19 had satisfactory left
ventricles prior to surgery and
the remaining 16 had defective
left ventricles.
EXCHANGE
DESSERT
with the
Featuring
BRAZOS POP
•Aggienizers
•Sunny
• And Your Brazos Valley
Symphony Orchestra!
Have your evening dessert and coffee*
the Brazos Pops! A fun evening of uk
delicious desserts by Fish Richards Bait
coffees by PrioriTeas, plus wine
champagne.
What an Evening!
1 p.m. to ?, February 5th, The Brazos Center
Desserts
by
Fish Richards Bakery
Need to pick up books or
money from sale of books.
Coffees
by
PrioriTEAS
Tickets $10
Reserved Tables S100 (can seat up to 10)
Wine, Champagne,
and Cheese Plates
for sale on premises
Tickets and table reservations may be purchased through PrioriTeas
(Proceeds will support the Brazos
Valley Symphony Orchestra’s next season)
Mastercharge/Visa accepted for
table reservations only
Monday, Jan. 24 thru
Wednesday, Jan. 26
APPUCAHONS due FEBRUARY 8
for NANCE SCHOLARSHIPS for AGGIES to
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
Information and application forms at
Harrington Ed. Bldg., Room 560 (Nance)
or 100 (Jessup)
v THE V
((('RIG 'EVENT Jf:
‘THE BIG EVENT
is the real thing”
Talking Coke Machine
-sp-
Serving
Luncheon Buffet
Sunday through Friday
I Ji^T/»so owr i« fwiajj 11 iOO a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Delicious Food
Beautiful View
XOpen to the Public ^
| “Quality First”
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and Jacque Cohen captures you with
<< Marilu, ,, the classic espadrille. In a
variety of colors, including navy, beige,
coral, red, and teal. This clean
open toe canvas look over the original
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season. Narrow-Medium widths, most
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-
Hou:
Classifies
Local. . .
National
Opinion
Sports. .
State
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CULPEPPER PLAZA, COLLEGE STATION
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