Monday, September 29, 1986/The Battalion/Page 5
,ead pollution, alcoholism
xe$ linked, A&M professor says
/ I
ive for other higher By Paige Hinkle
Reporter
\ Texas A&M psychology profes-
*1 • rh* T. 2 [has found evidence linking high
n , v • •. els of environmental pollutants in
nfljcting sides of the j bloodstream to h i gh H i eV el s of al-
, , , mol intake in a study on laboratory
ence argued about lu s 7 7
ts will affect thegtiil ip,. j ac ^ Nation said his research
location and whefc ^ there is a mo i ecu i ar and
answer to Texas iieiM av j ora ] |j n p between lead pollut-
f fland alcoholism.
S u ( ?L a _“‘ n f “lN’ati on said his research does not
jove that high lead levels are the
se of alcoholism in humans, be-
se alcoholism is an extraordinar-
|| complex disorder with many de-
ablishment of pari
g as a new form of
[ jorters, howetti
rat pari-mutuel
ttract organized cm| m 3itsB
iate went on, man)[e;i|^ owever| Nation said, if it is bi
believed the deliati
be addressed only
gically possible that someone
ild be an alcoholic, high lead lev
in the body could contribute to
alcoholism.
“My guess is that lead and cad-
ium toxicity merely aggravate an
listing condition,” Nation said.
In the studies, he said, laboratory
[ts exposed to dietary lead con-
med larger amounts of a 10 per-
[nt alcohol solution under stressful
mditions than did rats not exposed
>r Texans ■ Nation said that although factory
with lead and
likely to have
compromise
looking to prop®
e side of the debate
forum debate is s
20. The topic fori
whether states havt||
e having nuclear»t|
their boundaries,
concern
workers who work
dmium are
ed Legislature, i
6 seniors, convene
npion causes thataii
er residents
Igh levels of these chemicals in
, . . | leir bodies, the average person to-
1K nil IIP i ^ as times more lead in his
^IwIVUIUI V jdy than people did years ago.
Lead, which is the No. 1 cnemical
Texas'fa ^ utant * n l he nation, is environ
mentally distributed through auto-
lobile emissions, Nation said. Even-
lally, the lead gets into the aquifers
tithe earth and is transferred every-
of the Silver-Hairdl here trough these water systems,
k said. So lead works its way into
he food supply and people eat it,
lation said.
He said cadmium can be found in
ictories involved with electroplat-
ig and galvanizing. Cadmium also
n be found in cigarette tobacco, he
.■ere elected in ballot
is year in 28 district
11 members arert
it least 60 years old
p was organized!)
icerns of the elderk
lakers for consider
egular session,
cing the new forum
'bite earlier said lie
means that "senioi
iow have the oppor
blish legislative prio
as lawmakers.’’
said, so heavy smokers are likely to
take in higher amounts of it than
non-smokers.
Nation said this research is part of
a broad area known as behavioral
toxicology. He said it has received at
tention in the United States for the
last decade, although it was being
studied in the Soviet Union 30 or 40
years ago.
The primary concerns of behav
ioral toxicology, Nation said, are the
effects of environmental contami
nation on systems expressing emo
tional and motor behaviors. He said
behavioral toxicology also studies
the effects of chemicals on learning
and memory because researchers re
alize that chemical pollutants can af
fect people without showing obvious
signs.
If it is biologically possible
that someone could be an
alcoholic, high lead levels
in the body could contrib
ute to the alcoholism.
Dr. Jack Nation, an A&M
psychology professor.
Nation said researchers now have
to determine if increased alcohol
consumption is truly stress-me
diated.
One of the major human prob
lems related to elevated anxiety lev
els is alcoholism, Nation said, be
cause alcohol can be consumed in an
effort to keep anxiety levels within
manageable limits.
However, he said, alcohol is
unique because it has anxiety-reduc
ing properties and caloric prop-
jack Nations
erties. So, he said, behavioral and
biochemical investigations are being
conducted to determine whether an
imals consume alcohol as a food
source or to reduce anxiety.
“If these studies help us under
stand the molecular nature of alco
hol intake, perhaps, pharmacologi
cally speaking, we will be able to
control alcohol abuse through chem
ical means,” Nation said.
He said a team of British investi
gators conducted a massive study in
1982 in which it found a strong posi
tive correlation between high Blood-
lead levels and large amounts of al
cohol consumed on a daily basis.
However, Nation said, the investi
gators concluded that excessive alco
hol intake resulted in a breakdown
of the intestinal walls, allowing lead
to be absorbed easily into the system.
In other words, he said, the investi
gators concluded that high amounts
of alcohol could lead to high
amounts of lead in the body.
If both groups of researchers are
correct, Nation said, a bad situation
would be present because the effects
of high lead levels and high alcohol
consumption would form a vicious
circle.
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House’s tax increase bill reaches Senate
AUSTIN (AP) — As the House-
approved $869.2 million tax in
crease plan reached the Senate on
Sunday, Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby said the
Legislature’s budget-balancing spe
cial session could end by mid-week.
“I think it’s a good bill,” Hobby
said following a five-minute meeting
in which the Senate formally re
ceived the tax bill from the House.
The House passed the tax bill Sat
urday, along with $582 million in
spending cuts to help the state out of
a $2.8 billion budget deficit brought
on by the oil price drop.
A majority of senators had re
sisted deeper spending cuts and
pushed for a tax hike since the Leg
islature’s back-to-back special ses
sions began Aug. 6.
The temporary tax package
would raise the sales tax from 4 Vs
percent to 5’A percent, and add 5
cents to the 10-cent per-gallon gaso
line tax.
Both would take effect Jan. 1 and
expire Aug. 31.
The spending-cut bill would elim
inate nearly 2,000 state jobs and
wipe out a 3 percent state employee
pay raise scheduled for 1987.
Also approved by the House was a
provision to allow counties and cities
not now collecting a transit tax to
add a half-penny to their local sales
taxes.
At a session attended by only
three senators, Hobby said the Sen
ate Finance Committee would hold a
hearing on the tax bill today.
Asked if he expected the special
session that began Sept. 8 to wrap up
Tuesday or Wednesday, he replied,
“Something like that.”
Hobby, who initially had sought a
permanent tax increase to 5 cents to
cure the state’s money woes, said the
temporary tax hike was the best this
special session could do.
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