Page 6/The Battalion/Thursday, pecernber 8, 1983
Cousteau ‘terrified over toxic waste plans
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Legen
dary oceanographer Jacques-
Yves Cousteau said Wednesday
he is “terrified” by plans to burn
toxic wastes at sea, noting a
99.99 percent burn rate still
means 30 tons of deadly PCBs
will be dumped into the Gulf of
Mexico.
Top Environmental Protec
tion Agency and Coast Guard
officials, meanwhile, acknow
ledged risks with ocean incinera
tion of such toxic wastes as
polycholorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) and said there were no
guarantees of 100 percent
cleanup in an accident.
However, EPA water chief
Jack Ravan and Rear Admiral
Clyde Lusk Jr. told a congres
sional hearing they felt confi
dent there could be sufficient
safeguards in the ocean burning
of some of the 150 million tons
of toxic waste generated
annually.
‘I can thipk no wor se place
for such dangerous chemicals to
be transported or destroyed
than the se^ 1 am terrified by
this idea ’’ Cousteau said,
however. “pCBs can comprom
ise the future of the animal spe
cies. We are talking about a mat
ter that may affect our lives as
Cousteau submitted written
testimony that the present burn
rate standard of 99.99 percent
destruction Still means 30 tons of
PCBs will be dumped into the
Gulf under the 3-year permits,
the EPA has tentatively decided
to issue to Waste Management
Inc. of Oak Brook, Ill.
“Because of its toxicity and
persistence, PCB must be des
troyed to the highest efficiency
possible,” he said. “Anything
less than 100 percent destruc
tion means that toxic wastes are
being dumped into the sea.”
Cousteau said there are alter
native means of disposing of
hazardous chemicals that should
be looked at first.
The EPA in October tenta
tively decided to issue 3-year
permits to Chemical Waste to
use Vulcanus incineration ships
to burn such cancer-causing
wastes as PCBs and dioxin, and a
six-month research permit to
burn DDT.
Public outrey over the prop
osal — under which the ships
would operate out of Mobile,
Ala., and burn waste in Gulf of
Mexico area 190 miles from the
coast — led to Wednesday’s
oversight hearing by two House
Merchant Marine and Fisheries
subcommittees. More than
6,300 people last month
attended a hearing in Brown
sville, Texas, to oppose the Che
mical Waste permits.
Opponents contend the EPA
is pushing through permits for
ocean incineration without suf
ficient study, safeguards or reg
ulations to govern the alterna
tive waste disposal
They fear an SccM.r 1 "
cause a loss of human life
as taint or kill fragile
vironments. e
Environmentalists, W;
ers and eaten group,£
Wednesday in urging!,
incineration permits
appropriate regulation",,
written but a Chemical
executive said it wo ^
grossly unfair" to halt y
action on its permit applicj
' tiiit
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Dec. 5 - Dec. 9
8 oz for $1.59
Vacherie in running
for nuclear storage
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United Press International
SHREVEPORT, La. — The
nation’s first nuclear waste re
pository could be located in a
north Louisiana salt dome, and
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For more ^^^andyearbo^
the validity of a veto power the
state claims to hold over such a
proposal is unclear, a federal
energy official said Wednesday.
The Vacherie salt dome,
which straddles the Webster-
Bienville parish line in north
west Louisiana, is one of nine
sites in six states being consi
dered for the repository. At least
two other salt domes also are
under study by the DOE.
“It is not the most preferred
of the salt domes, but the guide
lines by which the department
will go have not been finalized,”
said Tom Baillieul of the DOE.
“It would be impossible for me
to say Vacherie’s status is in or
out at this time. There is a possi
bility that it would be nomin
ated.
“At such time as we would re
commend a site for a first reposi
tory, that site would be the most
extensively studied piece of real
estate in tne world/’ he said.
Rep. Charles “Buddy” Roem-
er and Sen. J. Bennett Johnston,
both D-La., have said the dome
was found unsuitable for nuc
lear waste storage and would not
be among three sites eventually
nominated for the repository.
Gov.-elect Edwin Edwards
School official
to face lawsuit
United Pres* International
AUSTIN — Attorney Gener
al Jim Mattox used a recently
passed law Wednesday to tile a
lawsuit against two San Antonio
school officials for allegedly
awarding construction contracts
without seeking competitive
bids. .
The suit alleges Antonio C.
Alvarez and Herbert Brewer,
both officials with the San Anto
nio Independent School Dis
trict, illegally awarded contracts
valued at more than $5,000
without seeking the bids.
The contractors, Joe Rincon,
owner of Elco Plumbing, and
W.A. Wahrmund, a general
contractor, also were charged
with accepting the jobs without
following bidding
required by the T
lion Code.
proedi'
exas Edis
I uesday issued a sutemtm,
minding President Reagam)
1978 agreement givingth eH -
power to veto location of a ti
tear waste storage faci
Louisiana.
But Baillieul said they*
ot that agreement was unda
particularly in lightofalMH
giving states the right tool'
location of a waste fad
their areas
"I don’t know which of)
agreements is most bindin;
said.
Federal energy officials
hold an “information exchas!
in Minden Thursday toallo-
sidents to discuss issues ofa
cern with geologists, scieia
engineers and other expeni
volved in the site evaluation^
cess. The meeting follows:
public hearing held last Mi
“We look at these as ohm
one discussions between pra
who are concerned and to
ledgeable experts whobt:
answers,” Baillieul said.
E:
tu
P :
sp
in
of
$S
be
tic
mi
Ti
lei
the
be
Fai
fav
A
Mattox said the conn*
were for plumbing serviefii
f general contract work at H;
and Hills Elementary, fa
Elementary, Alamo Suds
Riverside Park Elementan*
Schench Elementary schooi
The suit seeks civil pfl
against the defendant!
court costs in addition ton f
junction prohibiting tht
tractors and school oW
from participating in
SAISD contracts unlessthf 1
let through competitiveW
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O'
. W'/ •
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then l
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Events
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984, i
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tsues a
Lyndoi
ic
J
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’vn*
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you the very best
for the Holidays
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