Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1986)
■■ Architecture students design model for outpatient facility — Page 3 A&M's Carpenter winning by'short-changing' hitters — Page 9 Vol. 83 No. 146 CISPS 075360 14 pages College Station, Texas Thursday, May 1, 1986 West urges foreigners to pull out of Ukraine U.S. sources say damage, fire spreads to 2nd reactor I MOSCOW (AP) — I’p against a wall ol Soviet secrecy. Western gov- linments urged their citizens ■Wednesday to leave the stricken Uk raine where a nuclear fire spewed more radiation across Europe and tpuclied off a storm of world out- nge. I The Kremlin claimed radiation llvels were dropping at the dev astated Chernobyl nuclear power llani. But a Soviet diplomat was quoted as saying the inferno was “put of control,” and U.S. sources in Washington agreed. I In its most detailed casualty re- Ion, the Soviet government Wednesday said two people were ■lied in the accident and 197 others 5 reactors in U.S. lack domes I WASHINGTON (AP) — Five urge U.S. reactors used to produce nliclear weapons lack thick con- ainment domes to trap escaping ra- liation if other safety systems fail in in accident, and one of them has teen deteriorating for years, offi cials said Wednesday. ■The absence of such a protective steel and concrete shell around the Chernobyl reactor believed to have ntelted down in the Soviet Union is tlained by U.S. officials for the re lease of massive amounts of radia tion in the worst nuclear power acci dent in history. I In response to a suit from envi ronmental groups, U.S. officials con- sitlered building a containment dome around one of four weapons Bactors near Aiken, S.C., two years ago. I They concluded, though, that the 5ip50 million project was unneces- saiv. I I he concrete and steel domes ed at U.S. commercial plants are ur feet thick. In addition, according ter Energy apartment documents, officials ive been concerned for years about e warping graphite core and em- ittled and bowing process tubes in e N-weapons reactor at Hanford, ashington. The Hanford plant is the U.S. ant closest in design to the Soviet actor where the accident occurred. Like the Chernobyl plant, the N- actor is cooled with water and uses aphite to control the fission reac- )n inside but has no containment mte. Energy Deparment officials main- in that differences between the ashington and Soviet plants —the pe fuel used, structural design and id operating conditions —are suf- L'ient to make any comparison un- irranted. See Containment, page 14 were hospitalized. But unofficial, unverified reports spoke of higher casualty tolls. Those reports did not speak of potential long-term casualties, but the London-based Greenpeace envi- ronmental group estimated 10,000 Soviets would develop cancer over TO years as a result of what many consider history’s worst nuclear di saster. Some of Kiev’s 2.4 million people were fleeing the Ukrainian capital tor Moscow, 450 miles to the north east, West German sources said. Radioactive clouds, meanwhile, spread as far west as the Swiss Alps and Norway, borne on mile-high winds. European health officials reas sured the public that radiation levels presented no major danger. But an ger built up against the Soviets, who kept word of the deadly nuclear event from the rest of the world un til Monday, three days after it hap pened. The Soviet government has thrown a wall of near-total secrecy around what happened last week at Chernobyl, a four-reactor complex 60 miles north of Kiev. A Ukrainian Health Ministry offi cial, in a typical statement, said Wednesday, “1 am not authorized to tell you anything.” Later in the day, the official news media carried a 300-word statement bv the Soviet Council of Ministers saying remedial measures had re duced the radioactivity spilling from the damaged reactor, and “the ra diation levels in the area of the atomic power station (had been) low ered." It said the chain reaction had been shut down and specialists were cleaning up “polluted sections” around the plant. Of the 197 people hospitalized, 49 were discharged after a checkup, it said. The statement also criticized Western news agencies for “spread ing rumors” that thousands had been killed. See Disaster, page 14 WASHINGTON (AP) — A disas trous accident at a Soviet nuclear power plant, three days in the mak ing. has spread f ire and damage to a second nuclear reactor, Reagan ad ministration sources said Wednes day. But officials differed on the ex tent of the catastrophe. Some sources, offering a detailed assessment of the accident at the Chernobyl complex, said U.S. intelli gence agencies are convinced a sec ond of the four reactors at the site ei ther has already experienced, or is experiencing, a meltdown of its core. Late Wednesday, however, an other administration official said the ev idence of a second meltdown was not so clear cut. This official said it was “too early” to reach a conclusion based on exist ing ev idence. Another official said after attend ing an intelligence briefing that the notion of a second meltdown was “dead wrong.” A meltdown definitely occurred within the first reactor, however, said officials who spoke to reporters under strict ground rules of confi dentiality. These sources said a fire at that first reactor still was burning out of control Wednesday, spewing smoke, WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of elderly Americans face eventual poverty from the devastating cost of long-term nursing home care, but most are not even aware they have a problem, an administration task force was told Wednesday. They erroneously believe they’re already covered for nursing home care by Medicare or by the so-called Medigap private supplemental in surance policies many of them pur chase, witnesses and members of the task force said. One task force member cited an American Association of Retired Persons study that found 79 percent of more than 1,000 association mem bers surveyed believed they would be covered by either Medicare or Medigap policies if they eventually had to enter a nursing home. In fact, Medigap policies ordinar ily deal only with hospital costs Medicare does not cover. Under government programs, long-term nursing home care is covered only bv Medicaid, the state-federal health program for the poor. And to qualify for Medicaid bene- See related story, page 13 vapors and radiation into the atmo sphere. The of ficials flatly refused to dis cuss how U.S. intelligence agencies had pieced together a chronology of the Chernobyl disaster. Ii appeared certain, however, the officials vvere referring to an assess ment based on photo reconnaissance from American spy satellites as well as on data from other satellite sen sors. such as infrared detection de vices. The sources stressed, however, they had no independent assessment of how much radiation had been re leased into the air — only that such radioactive fallout was continuing. In Indonesia, President Reagan said Thursday that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had contacted U.S. officials about the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster but that there was no response on an American oi ler of humanitarian and technical aid. Asked if Gorbachev had accepted the U.S. offer of assistance, Reagan said, “No. We’ve heard from him but he apparently had not received our offer vet." fits, the elderly first must cash in vir tually all their assets — for the single elderly, that usually includes selling their home — and spend that money on their care until they are impov erished. It doesn’t take long. A Harvard study released last year of a sample of single 75-year-olds in Massachu setts found that 46 percent would be impoverished within three months of entering a nursing home, and 72 percent would be broke within a year. “The majority of older people need catastrophic insurance not to insure against the cost of a long hos pital stay, but against the uncovered expenses of nursing home care, community-based services and chro nic illnesses requiring long-term care,” William R. Hutton, executive director of the National Council of Senior Citizens, told the task force. The comments came Wednesday as the Reagan administration task force began its study of how to pro tect Americans from the cost of cata strophic illness. • ms jf-* rf*#! /i. % - : jggjfmi I s s ' k 1 ! ' v.' ■ tv -vn'-w gIPII ^ ' f rfjfe - f * |g|^ ^ ; W- ’ A'■■■■■ 1 •* - v ■I i ' 1 '*' Mlfll /: \ '5'A ! ..S .. SS ?.•■' •• ,-S’ -i x&s"" o ; vvi-cS . £ k The Clash Photo by Molly Pepper Residents of Moses Hall leap into the air as they try to keep a Hacky Sack off the ground. Long-term costs of nursing homes hurt elderly in U.S. 'ICAA won’t interpret rules or college newspapers 133 students may lose Pell Grants Budget cuts threaten financial aid ‘7 don't think we'll see any increases (in funding) in the near future. It’s a very political area. Spending on edu cation depends on political support.” — Taft Benson, director of student financial aid just to maintain current funding lev By Mike Sullivan StuffWriter The NCAA recently adopted a (policy blocking college newspapers from obtaining official NCAA inter pretations of possible inf ractions un- IJs.s they channel their requests through university administration. I Debbie Shoemaker, a secretary in the legislation services department <)l the National Collegiate Athletic Association, said she isn’t allowed to transfer calls from college newspa pers to NCAA officials, f "I can’t put you through to anyo ne," she said, “and I can’t give you an interpretation (of an NCAA rule)." I. .However, she did say the policy applies only to NCAA schools, rs High school newspapers and pro- Bpssional newspapers, as well as pri vate individuals, can get NCAA in terpretations directly from NCAA ofhcials, Shoemaker said. I She said the policy helps the NCAA remain organized and helps athletic departments keep up with interpretations. Shoemaker said college newspa pers must get interpretations of NCAA rules from their school’s chief executive officer, athletic di rector, faculty athletics representa tive or primary woman administra tor. A&M’s faculty athletics represen tative. Dr. Tom Adair, was the only NCAA-designated University rep resentative available for comment Wednesday afternoon. Asked if he was one of the people The Battalion could use to get an NCAA rule interpretation, Adair re plied. “You can try me.” Although newspapers also can go through their primary woman ad ministrator, neither President Van diver’s office nor Chancellor Han sen's office could identify A&M’s primary woman administrator. I he other NCAA-designated rep resentatives are Vandiver and Ath letic Director Jackie Sherrill. By Kim Roy Reporter As many as 133 Texas A&M stu dents may lose Pell Grant funding if President Reagan’s proposed budget cuts are approved by Congress, says Taft Benson, director of student fi nancial aid. Some of the 2,900 current recipi ents could find their aid cut or taken avvav. Benson savs. “There’s a lot of uncertainty be cause of the (federal) budget,” he says. President Reagan has proposed cuts in funding for higher educa tion, Benson savs, but Congress is li ving to maintain current funding levels. The Pell Grant, named after its originator Sen. Claiborne Pell D- R.I.. was established in 1965 to pro vide federal money to needy persons while they earn an undergraduate degree. "Since 1981 it's been a struggle els." Benson says. "I don’t think well see any in creases (in funding) in the near futu re." he sav s. “It's a very political area. Spending on education depends on political support. "Everything depends on the prio rities of people in of f ice." 11 f ederal grants are cut, there would be no way to pick up the slack, Benson sav s. State funds aren’t scheduled to in crease. A&M has no plans for helping students who find their Pell Grants cut. other than established means such as guaranteed student loans and work study, Benson says. And work study also is scheduled to be cut in the 1986-87 school year, Benson savs. Donors of scholarship money usually don’t stipulate that the monev go to the neeclv, although need may he one criteria, Benson savs. A student can apply for a guar anteed student loan, but most of the neediest students have already re ceived the maximum loan, Benson says. “ The gap widens each year be tween available funds and the cost of an education,” he says. “The system w e use to determine if a student is el igible for aid is very rigid.” It’s difficult to find alternative means of raising money for school, Benson says. “More often than not a student is forced to leave school,” he says. Shane Warr, a freshman from Port Neches, says if his Pell-Grant money is cut, he ll have to move back home. “I won’t he going to school at A&M because I pay for everything,” Warr says. “My parents don’t pay for anything.” Warr says he is on a four-year aca demic scholarship as well as being a Pell Grant recipient, hut the schol arship is not enough. A&M’s policy is to try to give a needy student 50 percent of the nec essary money through gift aid such as grants and 50 percent from self- help programs, loans or work study, Benson savs.