Columbia Missourian Newspaper 1984-08-10

              76th Year No. 273 Good Morning! It's Friday, August 10, 1984 3 Sections 18 Pages 25 Cents
House holds off
on amendments
to toxic waste law
Democrats
want bigger
' Super fund'
WASHINGTON ( UPI) - The House
bogged down in debate Thursday over
amendments to a politically popular bill that
would extend and expand the " Superfund"
toxic waste cleanup program by six- fol- d to
$ 10 2 billion overfive years
The bill appeared headed toward passage
because of its political appeal in this election
year, but'some key supporters of Superfund
legislation" warned that House Democrats
may have doomed it to failure by merging it
with another hazardous waste regulation
bill.
Debate on the Superfund was scheduled to
resime today, when a vote is expected.
The move to merge the bills is an effort to
pressure the Reagan administration and the
Republican- controlle- d Senate to support ma-jor
expansion of the programs or risk politi-cal
fallout in November.
A Republican co- spons- or of Superfund ex-pansion,
Rep. Norman Lent of New York,
called the bill merger a " politically moti-vated
election- ye- ar strategy" that would
give the Senate a " take- i- t or- leave- - it pack-age."
Senate rejection of the environmental leg-islative
package would strengthen Demo-cratic
presidential nominee Walter Mondale
ui attacking the much- malign- ed environ-mental
record of President Reagan and the
GOP
The Senate Environment Committee is
considering a Superfund bill generally con-sidered
to be weaker than the House version.
The House joined the two pieces of envi-ronmental
legislation on a 218- 1- 99 vote
Thursday, despite a warning from Senate
Environment Committee Chairman Robert
Stafford, R- V- t., that the move " could jeopar-dize
both bills."
An industry group, the Hazardous Waste
Treatment Council, said the merger " will
ensure the demise of both bills in this session
of Congress "
The measure attached to the Superfund is
a reauthorization of the Resource Conserva-tion
and Recovery Act, wluch provides for
" cradle- to- grave- " management of new
chemical waste production It already has
been passed by both the House-- and Senate,
although differences between the two ver-sions
must be resolved in conference com-mittee
House Democrats, led by Rep. James
Florio, D-- N J , successfully pushed for the
bill merger, arguing it would strengthen the
House bargaining position in negotiating
with the Senate on toxic waste legislation
The House then spent more than six hours
discussing a series of amendments to the Su-perfund
bill, bogging down in debate on the
complex quesbon of compensation for vic-tims
of toxic waste exposure.
Florio argued for drastic expansion of the
Superfund, declaring, " There is no environ-mental
problem more important to the
American people than the thousands of aban-doned
toxic waste sites which continue to
pollute our drinking water ' '
The Superfund formally known as the
Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act was en-acted
in the waning days of the Carter ad-ministration
in late 1980 to provide $ 1 6 bil-lion
for cleaning up the nation's worst toxic
waste sites.
Money for the expanded Superfund pro-gram
would come from a tax on chemical
production. The House bill would cost the
chemical and petrochemical industries $ 8
billion over the next five years, supple-mented
by more than $ 2 billion from the
Treasury.
Rep James Broyhill, R- N- C, contended
some provisions could burden the Environ-mental
Protection Agency with unrealistic
cleanup requirements and create more prob-lems
with citizen suits involving waste clean-up
" My guess is this will slow down the pace
of cleanup activity," he said.
Flono insisted the Superfund's " basic pro-gram
must be restructured to contain built- i- n
guarantees against any repetition of the
first few unfortunate years of Superfund's
troubledhistory."
More than 20 top EPA officials including
former Admimstratoi1 Anne Burford were
- fired or forced to resign last year when the
agency was engulfed in scandal last year
over mismanagement of the Superfund.
The bill would establish a mandatory
cleanup schedule, allow toxic waste victims
to sue in federal court and create a program
to regulate and clean up leaking under-ground
gasoline and chemical storage tanks.
Support for the Superfund has grown since
it became apparent that experts underesti-mated
the magnitude of the waste problem.
To date, only sue sites have been completely
cleaned up, although some work has begun
on virtually all of the 542 sites on the EPA's
National Priority List of Superfund locales.
The EPA estimates there may be as many
as 22,000 abandoned waste sites fouling the
national landscape
UMC staff pay raises may be devoured by other employee costs
By Mary Helen Landolt
Missourlan staff writer
Sometimes it seems that when UMC em-ployees
are concerned, there's a cloud for
every silver lining
Employees who were to receive salary in-creases
realize they will still be among the
lowest paid among major universities m the
Midwest What few realized when they
learned this summer that they are in line for
raises is that a sizable chunk of those raises
will be devoured by escalating costs that are
being passed along by their employer.
Employee medical and dental health bene-fit
rates are going up, as are tuition fees,
parking rates and fees for family members
to use recreational facilities.
For the first time in two years, the Univer-sity
system has been able to set aside funds
for salary increases. Not everyone will get
one there simply isn't enough to go around
but many can expect a minimum of 5 per- centm- ore
during the coming academic year.
0flT Senior secretaries, whose salaries average
$ 12,230 a year, are among those who will re-ceive
increases. If each of them receives the
minimum raise, salaries for the coming year
will average $ 12,894.
It will be difficult to stretch the $ 814 differ-ence
very far. A portion of it will go immedi-ately
for taxes. Then there will be $ 61.80 to
cover the difference in the cost of the typical
$ 100 deductible medical benefit plan, which
will increase from $ 247.32 to $ 309.12. The cost
of $ 100 deductible dental benefits will go up
$ 5.40 a year - from $ 41.64 to $ 47.04 for an
employee insuring only him or herself.
Employees or family members enrolled at
UMC will face an average tuition increase of
$ 42 a semester, undergraduate, and $ 70 a se-mester,
graduate, neither of which takes into
consideration increases in fees for specific
programs.
Parking rates will go up $ 36 a year from
$ 48 to $ 84. And fees for wives or husbands
who use recreational faculties will increase
75 cents a visit, $ 15 every four months, or $ 45
a year.
In other words, a secretary who takes ad-vantage
of such benefits and services could
wind up with less than $ 400 a year in gross in-come
after she or he gets a raise.
Stretching the paycheck is even more diffi-cult
for a widowed secretary with children.
Her medical benefit rates will go up $ 278 88 a
year from $ 1,115 04 to $ 1,393.92. The dental
benefit rate will increase $ 26.40 from
$ 202.68 to $ 229.08.
Most faculty members earn more and will
be less dramatically affected. But those who
don't receive raises and some staff members
who do will never see a cent in additional in-come.
In fact, some stand to find themselves
with considerably less spendable income
next year.
Increases in medical and dental rates
charged to the 4,000 UMC employees in the
programs will become effective Oct 1
Mike Paden, manager of University em-ployee
benefits, said the medical benefits
plan increase is necessary to help the Uni-versity
keep up with rising administrative
costs for processing claims, as well as in-creases
in health costs.
Leroy Sharp, supervisor of University sys-tem
personnel services and staff relations,
added that increases in the number of re-tired
faculty and staff also contributes to the
need for more funding. This segment usually
has higher claims, Paden explained, and
higher claims mean higher premiums for the
group insurance program
But the increase in insurance rates also
will help fund a rise in maximum death ben-efits,
which will be boosted from $ 500,000 to
$ 1 million per participant, Paden said. The
last tune such benefits were increased was
in 1978, when they went from $ 250,000 to
$ 500,000
Medical claims by UMC employees and
their dependents have increased over the
past 10 years to a total of more than $ 4 7 mil-lion
in 1983 and have contributed to the rising
cost of the insurance program, according to
Paden
David Leuthold, chairman of the UMC
Faculty Council, said the administration is
concerned and is attempting to develop al-ternatives
to lighten the financial burden to
employees
" Too much of the faculty's income is being
spent on medical care, which will cut into the
salary increases," Leuthold said
Mane Piva, who is a student as well as a
full- tim- e library assistant is one of those
who may not see much of her pay increase
She pointed out that she is among those em-ployees
who will receive a raise but that she
anticipates winding up with little left over
this year after paying for medical benefits,
tuition and books She called the increases ri-diculous
Michael Diamond, an assistant professor
See UMC, Page 7A
Diseased bandage lawsuit
produces million dollar scar
By Gabriel Shapiro
Missourlan staff writer
Evidence that reads like a Quincy script
led this week to the largest jury award in
Boone County history.
If not successfully contested, the verdict
will require a Connecticut- base- d bandage
manufacturer to pay a 49- year-- old Univer-sity
student from India $ 1.75 millioa The
jury ruled Wednesday that an adhesive
bandage marketed under the name Elasto- pla- st
and manufactured by Beiersdorf Inc.
transmitted a disabling infection to Gali,
Bhagvandoss.
Bhagvandoss was injured when struck by
a car while riding his bicycle at the corner
of , Stadium Boulevard and Worley Street
July, 3, ,1978. Following surgery later that
day, incisions in his back were covered by
an Elastoplast bandage that the plaintiff
claimed was contaminated with a fungus
called rhizopus.
Willa Adlestsln, an assistant in the Un-iversity
Hospital's neurosurgery depart-ment,
testified that she noticed the rhizopus
infection occurred where the bandage came
in contact with Bhagvandoss ' s skin.
Research by UMC doctors supported the
claim that the source of the infection was
the bandages. Bhagvandoss' attorney, Bob
Smith of Columbia, argued that Beiersdorf
knew its Elastoplast bandages had been
contaminated by rhizopus fungal spores.
That allegation was supported by evidence
that Beiersdorf had learned that fact
through such diverse sources as its own
laboratory; an independent research agen-cy,"
the American Biological Laboratory;
and the American Center for Disease Con-trol
in Atlanta.
The plaintiff said the complications from
the infection caused him extreme pain dur-ing
the 10- d- ay effort to eradicate the rhizo-pus
infection and a 15 percent limitation in
forward spinal movement He also said his
back has been permanently scarred as a re-sult
of surgeons having to gouge out flesh
harboring the infection
" They had to stuff the wound with
gauze," Bhagvandoss said, " then pull it out
to cause it to bleed. I think my doctors and
nurses suffered with me."
As a result of the complications, his stay
in the hospital had to be extended from two
to eight weeks, the suit said.
Beiersdorf denied that the infection was
caused by its bandages but settled out of
court in at least three other similar suits.
The Columbia suit was the first in which
Beiersdorf attempted to defend itself in
court
" The whole problem was to prove that
Beiersdorf knew about the rhizopus prob--
lem," Smith said The key to establishing a
case came when he located Cornelia Dams- k- y,
a former microbiologist for Beiersdorf.
Damsky issued a hold order on distribu-tion
of Elastoplast following discovery in
the company lab that some of the bandages
were contaminated. But, she said, Beiers-dorf
president Peter Metzger overruled her
order.
There was other evidence that Beiersdorf
was aware of the problem.
" The FDA advised Beiersdorf Oct 11,
1977, that sue cases of rhizopus had been re-ported
at the Mayo Clinic," Smith told the
jury. " But they didn't tell anyone about the
problem associated with their bandages."
Smith said the company also was in-formed
by the Center for Disease Control
about the six Mayo Clinic cases. And offi-cials
of the American Hospital Supply Corp.
said they told Beiersdorf that the FDA had
discovered Elastoplast bandages contami-nated
with rhizopus.
Clayton Dillavou, senior micrologist for
Athe UJ5. military, said military hospitals
had identified the same problem
" But they didn't do anything about it un-til
March 8, when they sent a letter out to
the hospitals," Smith said of Beiersdorf.
" The letter failed to advise hospitals of the
rhizopus problem and wrongfully stated it
had received no complaints. "
In May 1978, Smith said, Beiersdorf re-ceived
an early draft of a Disease Control
Center report that identified rhizopus prob-lems
in 10 other hospitals
At that point Beiersdorf began treating
newly manufactured bandages in an effort
to kill the rhizopus spores, Smith said
" But they never recalled the rhizopus- in- fecte- d
bandages already sent out," he
added " It was a marketing decision."
Hamp Ford of Columbia, who argued the
case for Beiersdorf, said he intends to file
for a new trial or a motion to set aside the
verdict
Regardless, Bhagvandoss said, he is glad
to have had an opportunity to present his
case. " Consumers must know that they can
stand up to huge companies."
i
Sho- ye- n Lfn photos
Jim McFadin naps while his daughter Heather McFadin, 13, and Brendan Danelsson, 10, play.
Outdoor workers beat heat
Summer can be dangerous WBEhZ9BBBEi
By Susan Mock
Missourlan staff writer
With temperatures touching the 100- degr- ee
mark this week, Columbia's outdoor workers
are trying their best to keep their cool.
Rick Cole and Roy Morns are part of the
Crawford Construction team that has been
installing the city's bnck crosswalks Work-ing
this week at the corner of Seventh and
Cherry streets, the pair say they beat the
heat by drinking plenty of fluids and taking
breaks in the shade whenever possible.
Cole says they begin work at 7 a m. and
finish at 3: 30 pm.
"( During) the heat of the day, we are get-ting
off work by then," Cole says
Truck driver Mike Miller has a less com-mon
heat- relat- ed problem His job with Mis-souri
Purveyors, 2614 Calvert Drive, re-quires
him to endure temperature extremes
as he moves back and forth between freezing
meat lockers and the heat of the outdoors.
Miller says he has gotten used to working in
hot and cold environments.
' ' It doesn't really bother me to go back into
the heat," he says.
Other people have found the summer tem-peratures
more difficult to handle. Vincel
Gray of 203 Redwood Drive says there's no
way to cope with the heat.
" You just come outside when you have
to," he says.
Gray's hot- weath- er philosophy makes a
great deal of sense, especially since extreme
temperatures can cause three health prob--
Farmers plagued by no rain Page 8A
lems.
Outdoor conditions, such as the ones expe-rienced
in Columbia this week, can be re-sponsible
for heat faint, heat exhaustion and
heat stroke, says Bernard Ewigman, a fel-low
in the Department of Family and Com-munity
Medicine at the University School of
Medicine,
Victims of heat faint feel dizzy and can
pass out, Ewigman says. Heat faint can oc-cur
duringthe early stages of heat stroke
Heat exhaustion results from not having
enough fluids in the body. Those who lose a
great deal of body fluids without drinking
enough to replace them, can suffer from heat
exhaustion. Symptoms include dizziness,
headaches, nausea and fatigue. Unless the
case is severe, those afflicted with heat ex-haustion
can find relief by drinking six to
eight quarts of fluid within 24 hours after the
symptoms appear.
The most serious and life- threateni- ng of
the hot weather sicknesses is heat stroke
Heat stroke causes the body's temperature- regulatin- g
mechanism to stop working. As a
result, the heart beats faster in an effort to
get more blood to the skin's surface to cool
off The temperature generally reaches 104
degrees or higher, Ewigman says.
Heat stroke can come on rapidly and with
little warning Ewigman says it may cause
See TIPS, Page 8A
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Gordan Cal, 13, takes a dive.