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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 23, 1988)
Thursday, June 23, 1988TThe Battalion/Page 5 Schools to be searched for asbestos 57 Readonl/: ioon. For more -5527. 17 p.m.in6mi;| nt. nic to Waste; i. at BizzellHs' ind lotsoffun.fi i24. ?. Weonlypih o so. Wfiafsll ibmissmxt nlry will run. h AUSTIN (AP) — In one of the most extensive undertakings in Texas school history, every sin gle school building — public and private — must be inspected this year for materials that contain asbestos. For years, asbestos was used to insulate, sound proof and Fireproof buildings. But asbestos has been linked to cancer, and a federal law gives 1,050 or so school districts in Texas until Oct. 12 to submit plans to remove the substance. The or der affects some 29,000 buildings. Dr. Larry Britton, director of environmental sciences for Texas Research Institute, predicts asbestos inspections in buildings will become as common as home termite inspections. TRI’s laboratories in Austin have been analyz ing asbestos samples since 1985, but Britton says the real crush, with schools, is yet to come. "By summer, we will run shifts to keep up with the demand.” Officials at the State Health Department, which was designated as the Texas agency in charge of complying with Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act — or A HERA — ac knowledge that there is no way it could analyze asbestos samples from all school districts. “Our target list includes those schools with the fewest resources,” said Elvin Burnside, a regis- Aggievision tered sanitarian with the Health Department. Burnside, Britton and Jerry Lauderdale, di rector of the department’s Occupational and Safety Division, discussed AHERA and its impact on schools, as well as possible problems, in recent intervews. AHERA was signed into law by President Rea gan in October 1986, setting in motion the na tional effort to make schools safe from asbestos. Under the law, all school buildings for kinder garten through 12th grade must be inspected for asbestos by a person who has completed a train ing course approved by the federal Environmen tal Protection Agency. Then, in Texas, a plan must be presented to the Health Department to prevent the materials from becoming a health hazard. After a plan is approved, it must be imple mented byjune 29, 1989. Asbestos does not necessarily have to be re moved from buildings, which is expensive, but just made safe, Burnside said. But there are penalty provisions for failing to comply with AHERA. A school district, for ex ample, can be fined $5,000 a day per building for improper inspection or up to $25,000 for failing to provide asbestos records upon request or re fusing to let the EPA inspect the buildings. Britton, a former University of Texas profes sor who has 14 years’ experience in microbiology and biochemistry, said asbestos becomes poten tially dangerous when it is crushed, releasing fib ers into the air that may be inhaled. Special equipment and skilled workers run up the tab for removing asbestos. “You just can’t get somebody off the street to go in and do that type of thing,” Britton said. Word of AHERA was passed to the schools by the EPA; Texas Education Agency; private school organizations; insurers; the Health De partment, which has conducted numerous semi nars; and asbestos consultants. “These consultants are looking for the schools. It’s not so much the schools having to look for them,” Lauderdale said. The health officials, as well as Britton, ex pressed concerned about schools being careful in selecting building inspectors, asbestos analysts and companies to remove materials. “Schools do not want to be on a waiting list, so they might be tempted to go with a company that has less experience,” Lauderdale said. Old procedure used to stretch short bones DALLAS (AP) — Doctors are us ing a procedure, developed in Sibe ria 37 years ago for mending limbs of World War II casualties, to lengthen too-short arms and legs of patients in this country. The technique, developed in 1951 by Soviet physician Gabriel Ilizarov, didn’t reach the United States until 1981, Richard Treharne, a bioengi neer, said. Treharne is employed by Rich ards Medical Co. in Memphis, Tenn., a company which markets equipment used for the procedure. The Ilizarov method stretches bones shortened by amputation, po lio, complicated fractures or con genital abnormalties such as dwar- Through a 1- or 2-inch incision, an orthopedic surgeon cuts the outer layer of the bone to be stretched, leaving the blood supply undisturbed. Pins as slim as bicycle spokes con nect the bone to hoops that sur round the exterior of the limb and the hoops are attached to each other by long screws. The patients actually do some of the work themselves, lengthening the screws a tiny fraction of an inch each day by turning nuts on the end of them with a wrench. They check in with their doctors about once a week. As the bone cut heals, it is pulled apart slightly, stretching the tissue and stimulating the production of more bone. Practitioners say the proper growth rate is about an inch every 10 weeks. Treharne said in some cases bones have been stretched up to 10 inches and even changed growth direction. as been awa: n 1989 and 13( ional Exchait :t research United State iional qualify ices with pe« a. He was a ion ing professcil :al engineer i )88 Dow Outs to individuals," engineenngesi ral activities. ngineenng, has aurifoy was a-; 1st students, fa 'cholarships, . first-sen/e<i%& (Continued from page 1) I hired five people in April solely for I editing purposes. Peter Hughes, a senior English I major and a former Aggievision I staff member, was fired by Keith, i Hughes said he was fired because I of personal problems, not because of 1 the quality of his work. “Greg told me that being fired ■ had nothing to do with the work I I did for the project,” Hughes said. I "He (Keith) said it was a personality I conflict — (it was) because of my atti- I tude.” Keith confirmed Hughes’ com ments. Cheryl Clements, a May journa lism graduate and a member of the first video yearbook staff, said all staff members of the first video year book were journalism majors with broadcast experience who had worked for either KBTX or KAMU. She said the staff that Keith hired for Aggievision was inexperienced and unqualified. Keith said he received only 20 ap plications for staff positions. Some of these, he said, did not even know what they were applying for, and some of the people’s applications were not well prepared. “There wasn’t a bunch of enthu siasm; we didn’t get tons of applica tions,” he said. “You do the best you can with what you get. You don’t say only this many people applied so cancel the project. You do the best you can with those who applied. I think I did that.” Despite past problems, the board is committed to the success of the A&M video yearbook. Davenport said this year’s staff has done a fairly good job, but better work is possible in the future if the board can find people who are not afraid of the job. Starr and Johnson both feel that Cheryl Pratt, a senior journalism major and producer of the 1988-89 video yearbook, was a good choice for the position. Pratt has worked for two years at KAMU and has taken most of the courses offered in journalism and broadcasting. She also has done a lot of freelance work for companies in Bryan-College Station and has been involved in the pre-planning and production of KAMU talk shows. Pratt said Aggievision had so many problems this year mainly be cause of lack of organization. “The staff didn’t go into the pro ject with any kind of organized plan and they relied on themselves too much,” she said. “I plan to do a lot of ‘pre-planning’ before I begin the project and I won’t hesitate to get help from others if I need it. It’s very important to realize when you need to get some technical help.” Keith said he thinks next year’s project will move much more smoothly considering the amount of experience that the new producer has. He believes, however, that the new staff should have a very in volved adviser. “They need someone from the de partment or from KAMU that TEXAS • OKLAHOMA • ARIZONA • NEW MEXICO issions mays | ou have any:/ er said. “I odds are prd I / thing than: | t we can pia.( ie helpful to! nication elite e whole pspA tanged.” the First It te found kii icir home lilt! ited suicided )allas psyckt aantic relaliot larents filed! ti the attack, nit and ajuil! he incidenl. lice would via d the hospili r Railey was ,e been coat tigers and hi' 1 vill include® hildren, wlio attack, will M bilitation pro! ate the cost I* 1 for 240 moi;: ven countiestff. Valley. 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FOLEY T S ...OF COURSE knows about video,” he said. “It’s very hard working with people like Don Johnson who look at everything from a print perspective.” After post-production is com plete, the board will review the final product to determine whether or not the project should be continued next year, Starr said. “If this year’s product really stinks then it’ll (the video yearbook) proba bly get killed by the board, but if it doesn’t then it’ll get another year,” he said. “The board will be looking at the sales volume to help deter mine if the project is abandoned or not.” “the round store w/blue trim’ Emily Katz Band June 25 9-Midnight 2 50 cover Lunch Special Ham & Cheese Sandwich $i 59 CASH for gold, silver, old coins, diamonds Full Jewelry Repair Large Stock of Diamonds Gold Chains TEXAS COIN EXCHANGE 404 University Dr. 846-8916 your business deserves some prime-time exposure. readers use these pages to see what’s happening on the tube. let them know what’s happening with you. call 845-2611 to place advertisements in at ease.