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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 1984)
Monday, January 30, 1984/The Battalion/Page 11 E Authorities say facts in DDT study ‘suppressed’ 'I'eib imded,': ecorati ■eii if ii| irtuniiij essioc! , hinkalj L ion. ir 'untric!^ sterini ^ lovmj )l 10 ke iples asch® affect: | estpno :omp«ii Photo by MIKE DA VIS And he's off!! Connie VanSchuyver, regional executive for the Sportscar Club of America, waves on drivers during the driving course held Sunday in the parking lot by Zachry Engineering Center. The timed race was set up to promote safe driving. Drivers were timed, and the winner received a trip to Daytona, Fla., to compete for a national title. United Press International HARLINGEN — Authorities connected with a federally funded study of the Lower Rio Grande Valley have told UPI that vital facts showing con tinued DDT contamination were suppressed and the report was a “whitewash.” Study officials immediately denied the charges, and said the data were subject to various in terpretations. But the best federal data, and privately commissioned tests, in dicate DDT contamination is worse than the local study indi cated. “The local (study) committee basically covered it up,” claimed biologist Cyndy Chapman, a member of the study group’s oversight committee, “and made it a whitewash. “We ended up with an ex tremely wishy-washy summary that doesn’t reflect the data we have,” she said, “I think there was a major coverup by chemic al, agricultural and industrial groups working together.” Study Chairman Ersel Lantz denied any important facts were suppressed, and saitl that factual discrepancies were due to a change in laboratories between the initial 1981 pesticide report and a final 1982 version. He said some data which appeared in the first report, but disappeared in the second — showing, mercury contamina tion, for instance — may have been erroneous. Pei haps, he suggested, re searchers ‘‘inadvertently picked up a sample of water where someone had broken a thermo meter.” . . Engineers at Dallas-based Black 8c Veatch, the study’s con sultants, said their client — the Lower Rio Grande Valley De velopment Council — requested they not comment. But other project workers confirmed the engineers were disturbed; by the report’s political overtones. “You wouldn’t believe the editing that went, on,” said biologist Linda Gardner, the project’s research director who quit in a dispqte over how to in terpret the data. “They pre sented it in the best light.” Said Robin Alexander, a The attorney said data col lected by Black &: Veatch had to be “approved” by a 42-member Development Council commit tee, and that a subcommittee, which included no environmen talists, edited the final version. The initial June 1981 report, obtained by UPI, indicated “there is apparently a significant source of DDT contamination located within the Arroyo Col orado drainage basin,” which carries agriculture runoff into the ecologically sensitive Laguna Madre, spawning ground of shrimp, fish and other sealife. i The study also reported find ing banned DDT in the Rio Grande itself, source of 95 per cent of the Valley’s drinking and Texas Rural LegaLAid attorney ^ irrigation water, and traces of who attended subcommittee ses- the compound in municipal wa- sions: “Theyjust burled it (DDT | ter ,supplies throughout the data).” She and former research director Gardner confirmed the panel refused to make public soil samples that indicated high concentrations of fresh DDT. Valley. Fifteen months later, in the September 1982 study, no traces of DDT or its residual compo nents DDD and DDE were re ported in drinking water. Casa Chapultepec 1315 South College 775-6052 Order to go Lunch Special $2.99 We mike Flour Tortillas Dinner Special Ladies Special $2.50 Enchilada, 1 Bean Tostada, 1 Taco, Guacamole Try our Aggie Special $4.95 Mon.- Fri. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 5p.m. - 9p.m. Sat. 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. (reopen 11:30 - 2:30) Sunday 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. Blackened 550 acres Brush fire under control wank residents. e stoni 3 insons ? e Angeles blackened 550 acres er wk| and destroyed three homes be fore it was contained Friday night. About 100 firefighters were on the lines Sunday mop- larkei ;com ionsli jpingup, said Mike Milosch, U.S. Mtion | ment' :d out: tge, cicoaitf levatK -esidue 3Ul thf medif ife Sff s sho»'i United Press International LOS ANGELES — Firefigh ters nearly had full control Sun day over a brush fire fanned last week by Santa Ana winds that killed four people and caused more than $ 1 million in damage. Power remained out for 2,000 We Do It Right. The Angeles fire north of Los Forest Service spokesman. He said that lower winds and (higher humidity brought the fori fire, near suburban La Canada- nesow ' Flintridge, to near control. n “It looks real good right now,” Milosch said. “We should have it controlled fully by 6 p.m.” The hurricane-force winds blowing from the desert last week also spurred a larger brush fire that charred 1,200 acres in eastern Orange County. It was fully controlled Saturday morn ing. No homes were damaged. The hurricane-force winds that blew cars off highways Thursday and knocked down trees and power lines started to ease Friday afternoon and gave way by Saturday to mild breezes throughout most of Southern California. The fierce winds blew a van over a mountain cliff, killing the driver, and knocked down a power line that electrocuted a man. In Yosemite National Park, about 300 miles to the north, a man was crushed to death by a falling tree. A 19-year-old man who was blown off his motorbike Thurs day and hurled against a tree died Saturday from internal in- juries at Fountain Valley Trauma Center. The property loss, including destruction of three homes and damage to four others, was esti mated at $1.25 million. Six fire fighters suffered minor injuries. About 2,000 customers of Southern California Edison Company were still without power Sunday. Most of them were in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Bob Hull, an Edison spokes man, said crews worked non stop and expected to have power fully restored late Sunday. \AII Star Audio welcomes you back to school with I Big Savings on our complete line of home and car stereo and video equipment. All Star Audio j gives you Low Discount Prices every day! Come by today and Save! Technics Fully Automatic Belt Drive Turntable! List $130 $9995 Features Front Panel Controls! Quartz-locked Semi-Automatic Direct Drive Turntable! 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Continental Monday will ask Wheless to approve its plan to cut the work force, impose half pay and require longer work hours — all actions the airline has already taken. Continental filed for bank ruptcy reorganization Sept. 24 and suspended U.S. flights for two days. On Sept. 27, it re sumed flying a drastically re duced schedule with fewer, cheaper workers. The Air Line Pilots Asso- ciaton and the Union of Flight Attendants struck Oct. 1 in pro test. The International Associa tion of Machinists already had gone on strike when contract talks failed Aug. 13. “What Continental is doing is, they are filing for court approv al to do something that they did in violation of federal law in Sep- tember,” said Airline Pilots Association spokesman Dick Smith. Continental, which has lost more than $500 million since 1979, repeatedly has said it is not union-busting but is simply trying to reorganize itself into a viable business, thereby saving jobs for at least part of its work force. “We will show the court that keeping (labor) contracts in force would not allow this com pany to move into a profitable future but could force it to li quidate,” said Continental spokesman Bruce Hicks. BRYAN COLLEGE STATION HOURS: Monday thru Saturday 9AM to 6PM. 3601 East 29th Street....846-1768 in Brookwood Square HOURS: Monday thru Friday 10AM to 7PM, Saturday 9AM to 6PM. 913 Harvey Road ..,..693-9558 in Woodstone Shopping Center next to Monterey House' Bryan and College Station locations formerly Dyer Electronics H] m pbopp«rt Ohorcje You wont believe your eyes when you come to MSC Aggie Cinema s next General Meeting! Mon., Jan. 30th 7:00 p.m. 510 Rudder Tower Everyone is welcome! Doesn’t that beautiful mind of your^ deserve a beautiful body? 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