Page 6 • The Battalion • Thursday, July 25, 1996
GOP dares Clinton
to veto welfare bill
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Faced with White House
pressure to craft a welfare
bill more to President Clin
ton’s liking, Republican con
gressional leaders indicated
few changes would be forth
coming and practically dared
Clinton to veto the measure.
“Given the many promises
you have made to end welfare
as we know it, a veto would
represent a serious breach of
your word,” said a letter
House Speaker Newt Gin
grich and Senate Majority
Leader Trent Lott sent to
Clinton on Wednesday.
“It would tell the Ameri
can people that you would
rather talk about reforming
welfare than act to bring help
to the neediest American citi
zens,” they wrote.
At the White. House,
spokesman Mike Mccurry
said: “We remain very hope
ful ... that this bill is headed
toward a signature and not a
veto.” But he said no final de
cision had been made.
Earlier, Clinton had laud
ed some improvements in the
bills but still worried that
they might weaken protec
tions for children.
Irvin suspendet
AUSTIN (AP) — The NFLhandel
Michael Irvin a five-game suspensk|
after the wide receiver’s no conte
plea to cocaine possession. I
“We were surprised to a certaitj
degree because we had heard:
might be eight games, so I gues:!
five just fell right into the slotj
Cowboys personnel director Laml
Lacewell said.
The question is, can the Cowboy;
survive until October without Irvin
“Any time you lose a great fooi
ball player, you're going to struggle^
but this team has a knack of overf
coming adversity,” Lacewell said. PAST
The five-game suspension wi-lnvestig -
cost Irvin more than 500,000
makes $102,647 a game.
Clinic
Continued from Page 1
“When I think of resident, I think of someone
like myself who has lived here for a number of
years,” he said. “We’re not geared to provide
services to students; there’s the health facility
on campus.”
Hickson questioned the validity of statistics
provided be the BVCAA, and asked if students
were distinguished in the numbers.
“The question I’ve got is when you do these
studies, are you asking the difference between Col
lege Station residents versus students?”
In an interview with The Battalion, Hickson said
College Station already takes up a lot of slack for
the University.
“I have empathy for the students, but we have
to know how many students will be using the
clinic so we can get support from A&M. We al
ready let the University use our Fire Depart
ment for free, and there’s really no revenue pro
jected outside of payroll.”
Marianne Oprisko, a College Station resident
and Texas A&M graduate student, said perma
nent residents or not, students already financial
ly contribute to the city.
“Are you saying that College Station students,
students who work full time to pay for school, those
who aren’t under their parents (support) and even
those who are, and are still working full time are not
residents of this city, even though they pay taxes
every time they pay rent or go down to the grocery
store and buy taxable products?” Oprisko asked. “I
really don’t think you wanted to say that.”
Oprisko said although students have access to
some facilities on campus, the services are limited.
9d to be
■)pened,”
jfid of the
■ory than
■troyed fc
I cockpi.4
9cted di'
IIBa crucis
“They (A&M health services) do not prov;® 11 ! 111 - 1111 1
things like prenatal care,” she said. "The A» n ordear-
health facility is only good for Band-Aids and coldsflsh a c r
At the meeting, Dr. David Lawson, directe ' e ' °f st*
the counseling and assessment clinic at Twlftive sov
A&M, said mental health care could also bep:lr ress -
vided at the clinic. JlB'h 6 sear-
‘We deal with issues that we sometimes don’t uiris on tT
to talk about in public such as battery and sex dbw first cc
es,” Lawson said. “If the center opens we would all along tl
have the medical backing we sometimes need.” pht path
Dr. Don Sweeney, chairman of the board fortlir 8 a pd tl
Brazos Valley Community Action Agency,
members of the BVCAA think students are
zens and should have access to the clinic.
“As far as we re concerned, students particij
in the community and they should be able to i
the clinic,” he said. “There is a means of testii
find out if the patients can or cannot affo
services and those who show they have more
ey will be required to pay a little more.”
Hub Kennedy, a College Station City Coun
member, said when the plans are completed,
hopes students will have access to the clinic.
“Nothing’s final yet,” he said. "The key
is funding. There’s a fairly large amount
money which will be spent and we neet
know if they will be able to track it back!
the students.”
Chris Reed, speaker of the Student S
and a senior finance major, said this
should not divide the community.
“I can see their point,” he said. “But I can
see that every student pays taxes. If we
playing this tit-for-tat game, then the \s
community will be the loser. A&M is very gratf
ful for College Station letting us (the Universitl
use their fire department for free. The Univers!
ty is dried up for funds. I would think the onf
way A&M could support (the clinic) would bel
have a fee increase.”
TAMU
PUBLIC EDUCATION MATERIALS FOR LEAD IN WATER SYSTEMS
7/23/96
Introduction
Based on samples taken in Februaiy 1996, the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission (TNRCC) has advised Texas A&M University that there are undesirable levels of lead in its drinking water at some locations on campus. Although
subsequent testing by an independent laboratory has shown that lead levels were witliin acceptable ranges, TNRCC has asked the university to initiate an awareness program to acquaint its students, faculty and staff with the possible dangers of lead in
drinking water. The information that follows is part of that program. These materials also will be posted at various locations across campus.
The university’s water supply, which is provided through wells similar to those used by Bryan and College Station, is not contaminated by lead. The low levels of dissolved lead found during required monitoring are from plumbing materials, primarily
lead solder, found in some older buildings. Although those construction materials were part of the normally accepted practice prior to 1986, it now is recognized that, under certain conditions, the lead could tend to dissolve.
Officials of Texas A&M’s Physical Plant and the Safety and Health Office are confident that the university’s water is safe to drink. However, Texas A&M will continue its aggressive testing programs for the next six months to offer maximum
reassurance that university water is safe to drink. We also encourage all members of the campus community to review the educational information that follows.
Public Education
Texas A&M University Physical Plant/Utility Plant, Office of Safety and Health and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) arc concerned about lead in your drinking water here on campus. Although most buildings have very'
levels of lead in the drinking water, some buildings on campus may occasionally show lead levels above the EPA action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb), or 0.015 milligrams of lead per liter of water (mg/1). Under Federal law, the Physical Plant/Utility
Plant is required to have a program in place to minimize lead in your drinking water. This program includes corrosion control treatment, source water treatment, and public education. We are also required to replace each lead service line that wc
control if the line contributes lead concentration of 15 ppb or more after we have completed the comprehensive treatment program. If you have any questions about how we are carrying out the requirements of the lead regulation, please call 845
4541. .
This article explains the simple steps you can take to protect yourself by reducing your exposure to lead in the drinking water in a public facility and in your home.
Heath Effects of Lead
Lead is a common metal found throughout the environment in lead-based paint, air, soil, household dust, food, certain types of pottery, porcelain, pewter and water. Lead can pose a significant risk to your health if too much of it enters you body. Leail
builds up in the body over many years and can cause damage to the brain, red blood cells and kidneys. The greatest risk is to young children and pregnant women. Amounts of lead that will not hurt adults can slow down normal mental and physical
development of growing bodies.
Lead in Drinking Water
The EPA estimates that drinking water can make up to 20 percent or more of a person’s total exposure to lead. Therefore, lead in drinking water, although rarely the sole cause of lead poisoning, can significantly increase a person’s total lead exposure,
particularly the exposure of infants who drink baby formulas and concentrated juices that are mixed with water.
Lead is unusual among drinking water contaminant’s because it seldom occurs naturally in water supplies like rivers and lakes. Instead, lead enters drinking water primarily as a result of the corrosion or wearing away of materials containing lead in (lie
water distribution system and plumbing. These materials include lead-based solder used to join copper pipe, brass, and chrome plated brass faucet’s and in some cases, pipes made of lead that connect your buildings to the water main (service lines). In
1986, Congress banned the use of lead solder containing greater than 0.2% lead, and restricted the lead content of faucet’s, pipes and other plumbing materials to 8.0%.
When water stands in lead pipes, or plumbing systems containing lead, for several hours or more, the lead may dissolve into your drinking water. This means the first water drawn from the tap in the morning, or later in the afternoon may contain
higher levels of lead.
Steps you Can Take to Reduce Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water
Despite our best efforts mentioned earlier to control water corrosivity and remove lead from the water supply, lead levels in some buildings on occasion can be higher than desired.
The following precautions can be followed:
1. Let the water run from the tap before using it for drinking or cooking any time that water in a faucet has gone unused for more than six hours. The longer water stays in your plumbing, the more lead it may contain. Hushing the tap means to run the
cold water faucet for about 15-30 seconds. Although flushing a toilet or running a shower also flushes water through a portion of your plumbing system, you still need to flush the water in each faucet before you use it for drinking or cooking.
Hushing tap water is a simple and inexpensive measure you can take to protect your health.
It usually uses less than one or two gallons of water. To conserve water, fill a couple of bottles for drinking water after flushing the tap; and whenever possible, use the first wateryou flush to wash the dishes or water the plants.
2. Try not to cook with, or drink water from the hot water tap. Hot water can dissolve lead more quickly than cold water. If you need hot water for cooking, draw water from the cold tap and heat it on the stove.
1. Texas A&M University Safety and Health Office
(409)845-2132
This office can provide you with information about your community’s
water supply, and a list of local laboratories that have been certified by
EPA for testing water
2. Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
Water Utilities Division
P.O.Box 13087
Austin, TX 78711
Phone:(512)239-6020
3. Texas Department of Health
1100 West 49 th Street
Austin, TX 78756
Phone:(512)458-7111
This office can provide you with information about your community’s
water supply, and a list of local laboratories that have been certified by
EPA for testing water quality.
This office can proride you with information about the health effects of lead and
how you can have your child’s blood tested.
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