ursday, September 7,2000
toA&M
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September 7, 2000
science
Page 5 A
TECHNOLOGY
I HE BATTALION
Workers exposed to dangerous waste
Government, private companies covered up health risks during WWII
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Government records filed
away for decades document how the U.S. government used
hundreds of private companies during the 1940s and 1950s
to handle dangerous materials used to make nuclear
weapons, exposing thousands of workers to potential health
risks, USA Today reported.
A White House panel — the President’s Advisory Com
mittee on Human Radiation Experiments — was set up in
1994 to investigate health risks from various secret Cold
War studies and other government inquiries have focused
on risks to workers — public and private — who handled
nuclear material.
While some of the most dramatic cases involving pri
vate companies have been written about previously, USA
Today said it has documented for the first time the scope of
the programs.
In a series of three stories beginning in Wednesday's edi
tions, the paper reports on material gleaned from a review
of 100,000 pages of government records, many of which it
said were only recently declassified.
Reporters visited archives and former contracting sites
in 10 states and interviewed scores of former employees,
neighbors and government officials.
They found the government relied on a vast network of
private plants, mills and shops to build the early U.S. nuclear
arsenal, with grave health and environmental consequences
for thousands of workers and dozens of communities.
Energy Secretary Bill Richardson told the paper he was
“receptive” to the idea of developing a government data
base for all of the sites that can be shared with the public and
said, "the administration will continue to be aggressive, in
efforts to obtain compensation for workers harmed in the
various nuclear programs.”
Among the major findings of the USA Today review:
—The government hired about 300 private companies
during World War II to process and produce material used
in nuclear weapons production, with at least a third of them
handling large amounts of radioactive and toxic material
even if they did not have the proper equipment or knowl
edge to protect workers.
—The government regularly documented worker health
risks at many private facilities, producing highly classified
reports that detailed radiation exposure rates hundreds of
times above safety standards.
—Many private companies contaminated the surround
ing air, soil and water with toxic and radioactive waste.
—Both the government and private executives at the
companies hid health and environmental problems.
Insects inhabiting caves may be endangered
SAN ANTONIO (AP) —
Federal listing of cave-dwelling
insects as endangered species
could bar the development of
land around their habitat, reining
in some of what has been rapid
real estate development, offi
cials say.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
service next month is scheduled
to review whether to designate
the nine spiders, beetles and bugs
that dwell exclusively in north
ern Bexar County caves as en
dangered.
That would mean that devel
opers and landowners may be
prevented from developing a
minimum of 60 acres around
each cave to ensure their sur
vival.
The tiny critters are known to
inhabit at least 55 caves, accord
ing to the San Antonio Express-
News’ editions Wednesday.
“We’re talking about cave in
vertebrates that are about as big
as the 'L' on the dime in the word
‘Liberty,’ ” said Gene Dawson
Jr., an engineer who tried to ne
gotiate a voluntary agreement
among property owners who
have caves with one or more of
the nine species.
“That’s how big these species
are they're trying to protect,”
Dawson said. “That little species
could prevent a highway from
going in or a residential subdivi
sion or a retail development.”
Local and state groups peti
tioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to protect the bugs more
than eight years ago, when they
feared that San Antonio’s expan
sion to the north was threatening
the insects. When the Tucson.
“It's absurd
that someone
has to threaten
the federal gov
ernment to en
force their own
regulations
— Kyle Cunningham
Co-Chair Helotes Creek association
Ariz.-based Center for Biologi
cal Diversity threatened a lawsuit
in May, the federal agency
promised to take action.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service will issue its opinion on
the Bexar County bugs by Oct.
18, according to its letter dated
Aug. 31.
Peter Galvin, conservation bi
ologist for the Center for Biolog
ical Diversity, said the agency
will sue if the Bexar County in
sects aren’t declared endangered
or if there is any additional delay.
A hydrogeologist and cave
explorer whose research has
been used by environmental
groups and USFWS said as many
as a dozen caves that may have
contained one or more of the
species have been destroyed
since 1992.
The researcher, George Veni,
said “the area over the recharge
zone and where the caves are lo
cated is under siege,” with caves
being paved over or contaminat
ed by pesticides.
Kyle Cunningham, co-chair
woman of one of the five organi
zations that filed the original pe
tition in January 1992, expressed
frustration that the insects are not
already listed as endangered.
“I find the whole thing ab
surd,” said Cunningham, with
the Helotes Creek Association.
“It’s absurd to that someone
has to threaten the federal gov
ernment basically to enforce
their own regulations.”
Science in Brief
A&M prof discusses
plate theories
A few days ago many northern Californi
ans were subject to an earthquake which
measured 5.2 on the Richter scale. Al
though there are earthquakes occurring dai
ly, very there have been very few occurring
on the Atlantic shore.
Some of these earthquakes are power
ful enough to cause tsunamis which are
massive walls of water that seep across
oceans and can devastate coastal regions.
Tom Hilde, a professor of geophysics at
Texas A&M and an expert in plate tecton
ics, said that one should not be expected
any time soon.
A computer model recently developed at
Pennsylvania State University hypothesized
that high pressure subseafloor water pock
ets which were approximately 100 miles off
the New Jersey coast could trigger land
slides along the edge of continental shelf,
possibly resulting in destructive waves.
In a press release, Hilde said that the en
tire western margin of the pacific Ocean is
bordered by convergent plate margins.
“In contrast, the Atlantic margin of the
United States is a passive margin, not a
plate boundary, and so it is not tectonically
active,” he said.
Cure for Alzheimers
may be on the way
A Canadian research team has isolated
a protein responsible for the degeneration
of nerve cells in Alzheimer’s disease, called
nicastrin.
Dr. Paul Fraser of the Centre for Re
search in Neurodegenerative Diseases
said nicastrin is an important component
of the cellular machinery underlying
Alzheimer’s and has several features
which suggest that it might be used as a
target for the development of new drugs
for this disease.
The protein is named after a small south
ern Italian village called Nicastro which
played a critical role in the discovery of
genes that cause early forms of
Alzheimers.
Here’s your
chance
to join the university
surfing team.
All you need is a knack for surfing the network and DSL-
the always-on, high-speed connection to the university LAN.
DSL from Verizon lets you do so much more.
E-mail and chat with other students in real time.
Conduct online research at breakneck speed.
Submit and download assignments over the network.
And, that’s just the beginning.
For more details about DSL or to learn about special deals created
just for students and staff, visit us online today.
http://dsl.tamu.edu
DSL service not available in all areas. Special equipment is required. DSL service is dependent upon local
network conditions. Each phone line must be tested and qualified. Testing will be done at time of order.
il!]
b
Pi
S
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846-3600
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$7.00 an hour!!!!
We currently have challenging part-time positions available for
marketing, customer support, inventory and hardware support.
We consider all types of majors and provide complete training,
so don't miss this opportunity to visit ucs in the MSC to see
if you're the person we're looking for.
Friday (9/1)
Tuesday (9/5)
Wednesday (9/6)
Thursday (9/7)
Friday (9/8)
138 & 139 MSC
138 & 139 MSC
138 & 139 MSC
138 & 139 MSC
138 & 139 MSC
This is a great opportunity to talk with some of our employees,
fill out some paperwork, or just make an appointment to speak
with us a later date.
We will have free snacks and beverages
The rooms in the MSC can be reached by going to the hotel
information desk in the MSC. We will be there between 9 a.m.
and 4 p.m. and we look forward to talking to you.
UCS
595-2609
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