Thueday, March 24, 1983/The Battalion/Page 7
“ Nuclear plant fails
' to report accident
L ‘ d a plav { ]
United Press International
, ’ ,n P e >«!C. HOUSTON — The Texas
all()n of M Bepartmeni ol Health has in-
In § c °nvtd definitely suspended the
"i ' ear i operating license of Ciull Nuc-
' 1 ^prest lear Inc.’s Webster plant for
ifled to
Feb. 8 which may have con-
I) J' t on o® ■mainated as many as nine
bus ifc' f employees.
lainprotlj Richard Ratliff, director of
,u , »n thtis [ radiation compliance for
' the cost.
I.dgingfi,
nditioni
ichwoddl
‘ totnpetin
have onn
If.” Crod
interrehte
■aid his a
fitionhero
man phi
failure to report an accident
■DH, said the action was
t^ken Monday after inspec
tors confirmed a report from
a company employee that a
capsule containing Amer
icium 241 was inadvertently
sliced in half.
® The radioactive isotope is
used in petroleum industry
equipment. The firm makes
and handles radioactive mate
rials for the petroleum and
medical industries.
Ratliff said preliminary
tests indicate that two em
ployees have some level of
radiation in their bodies be
cause of the Feb. 8 incident.
He said tests have been
ordered for seven others.
“When it (Americium 241)
gets into the body, it doesn’t
impose an immediate threat,”
Ratliff said. “You’re looking at
long-term effects, such as in
creased chances of cancer and
things like that.
“The reason we ordered
the company to send the peo
ple to the lab is you need to
find out early if radioactive
material is present so they can
be treated.”
Ratliff said the health de
partment also required the
company to outline corrective
steps for preventing similar
accidents and announced that
a full inspection will be con
ducted at the facility within
two weeks.
“The suspension of the
license was occasioned by a re
cent minor contamination
occurring within a restricted
area of the Webster facility,” a
Gulf Nuclear prepared state
ment read.
icketing may replace
failing
“tiough
said hew
program
:he state,
•ther lie
liversitv
ch. '
e decades
I United Press International
(euhfpfcj AUSTIN — Marijuana smok-
gamrecoB
ers. prostitutes and gamblers
,ullve 'l would be ticketed instead of
K,e hito jail immediately
' ' undu ,i bill w hie h has been
approved by a legislative com
mittee and has been sent to the
House for debate.
■The bill, allowing traffic-type
citations for offenses including
possession of less than two
ounces of marijuana, prostitu
tion, gambling and homosexual
, ] conduct, was harshly opposed
by the Texans’ War on Drugs
Committee in earlier hearings
before the House Criminal
ily it’s Jurisprudence Committee. The
; hnique fiH|
leukemiH
bone d
said,
physical
the patienj
in
4 • ?
sin
offenses
committee voted 6-1 in favor of
the measure Tuesday.
War on Drugs members said
the bill would give young people
the impression that “it’s OK to
do drugs, it’s not bad to be a
homosexual, and it’s OK to be a
prostitute.”
The measure originally
would have allowed ticketed
offenders to send their attor
neys to represent them in court
within 10 days of receiving the
citations. But committee mem
bers amended the proposal to
reejuire offenders to appear in
court personally and to be
booked, fingerprinted and
photographed within 48 hours
Legislature considers bills
on farm worker insurance
United Press International
USTIN — Farmers claimed
itire mw
le into a J
of the fij
thlt a bill to place f arm laborers
under workmen’s compensation
insurance would result in higher
R ., | food prices for consumers, but
" . supporters of the measure told
legislative committees that farm
workers must be insured against
injuries in their dangerous occu-
'“‘"biion.
P ro e ( ^BA Senate committee voted 6-
pntients 4 "Tuesday in favor of a bill that
would require growers with
ltient " 1 annual payrolls of more than
150,000 to provide workmen’s
s /" compensation insurance for
''I"" 11 their employees.
,OA House committee debating
lck h en f a similar bill with a $20,000
i lns 111 p a y ro n cut _off sen t the measure
:ra P) tola subcommittee for further
i remtssi ,
red two
help, but we also need to help
the farm workers who work out
there in the field and put the
food on our tables.”
study.
H Supporters claimed that a
state law adopted in 1913 un
fairly excluded farm laborers
from workmen’s compensation
coverage because agricultural
work was considered relatively
sale.
■Things have changed since
then,” said Rep. Juan Hinojosa,
I)-McAllen, who sponsored one
of the bills. “Statistics now show
farm work is the second most
dangerous work.
■“We are always trying to help
the farmer, and they need our
CQ CQ CQ
All W5AC Members
General Meeting
402 Rudder
Thursday, March 24 7:00 p.m.
Officer nominations will open final prepa
rations for Swapfest.
Tnx es 73
JJU
^fr
MSC ARC
Jobless rate
up for Houston
United Press International
HOUSTON — Unemploy
ment in the Houston area rose to
9.7 percent in February, accord
ing to state figures, and an
analyst warned the rate could
rise beyond 10 percent because
of the persistent slowdown in
the oil industry.
In January, the Texas Em
ployment Commission put job
lessness in the six-county Hous
ton area at 9.1 percent.
But according to new figures
released Tuesday, the figure
had risen 0.6 percent — with
172,000 residents jobless in Feb
ruary compared to 164;000 in
January.
A record 80,000 residents
filed unemployment benefit
claims in February. A year ago,
TEC handled about 15,000 job
less benefit claims in February.
Houston now handles more
claims than Dallas, Fort Worth
and San Antonio combined.
“If we continue to experience
a reduction in manufacturing
employment —this is our man
area of concern — it’s possille
the 10 percent rate will happtn,”
TEC analyst Joel Terry said
TEC reported unemploy
ment statewide climbed from
8.5 percent to 8.8 perced from
January to February, ffost of
the statewide increasi came
from a reduction in fie retail
sales force, analysts sad.
Officials said the stite figures
released Tuesday wee not dire
ctly comparable witfU.S. Labor
Department unemployment re
ports because the labor Depart
ment adjusts or seasonal
changes while thestate does not.
of receiving the citations.
Supporters said the measure,
by Rep. Bill Blanton, D-Farmers
Branch, would free busy police
officers from time-consuming
booking procedures.
“This will allow the officer to
remain out on the streets rather
than booking at the station,” said
committee member Rep. Terra!
Smith, D-Austin.
Rep. Tom Waldrop, D-
Corsicana, was the only commit
tee member to oppose the bill.
He said young marijuana smok
ers should be subjected to “the
trauma of being hauled into jail”
rather than ticketed for the
offense.
Workers Union in the Rio
Grande Valley testified that the
only recourse available to poor
ly-paid farm laborers who are
injured on the job is court suits
A Roman Catholic nun who against their employers, which
works with the United Farm most workers can’t afford.
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