,6 The Daily Tat Heei Tuesday, April 11, 1978
Lou Ba ionis
Editor
Chuck Ai ston, Managing Editor
Betsy Flagler, Associate Editor
Don Woodard, Associate Editor
Bernie Ransbottom, University Editor
Mary Anne Rhyne, City Editor
David Stacks, State and National Editor
Jaci Hughes, News Editor
Leslie Scism, Features Editor
Mark Scandlinc, Arts Editor
Lee Pace, Sports Editor
Allen Jernigan, Photography Editor
Mj .rear o" editorial f reedom
A non-fiction 'Silent Spring'?
When graduation is around
the corner, it's too late
In hopes of making a high-school diploma represent more than paper and
ink, 37 states now have minimum-competency tests to determine who gets a
diploma and who gets a "certificate of attendance."
The failing rate of those taking the tests is alarming. Last October, 36
percent of Florida's juniors flunked the math portion of the test and 8
percent came up short in reading and writing skills. Educators are predicting
that 20 to 35 percent of all North Carolina juniors will fail upcoming
competency tests required for high-school graduation.
There is no need to make excuses for the predicted failing rate in North
Carolina or to point fingers at who is to blame. But there is a need to identify
students who have inadequate reading or math skills and bring them up to
par.
The N.C. Board of Education will request $8.7 million from the General
Assembly to institute remedial programs for students who fail the
competency test. The request is a wise one and displays a commitment to
finance whatever it takes to teach students the minimum knowledge
demanded. by the test.
But correcting the problem when graduation is around the corner is not
enough. Remedial programs in reading and math at the grade-school level
can do more to ensure at least a minimum achievement by every student.
The $8.7 million request aimed at financing preparation for a second-go-round
with the test may be justified, but the state should also support an
overall remedial program like the one in New Jersey, which allocated $57
million for programs to pinpoint and help slow learners in early grades, as
well as to assist students who have already failed the competency test.
Expanded remedial programs deserve as much or more attention from
the state's educators and legislators as Gov. Hunt's proposed science and
math high school for gifted students has received. The high school for 500 to
1,000 bright students suggests a commitment to excellence, but funding of
the project in lieu of stronger support for remedial programs sacrifices
minimum achievement for the masses at the expense of attention to the few.
North Carolina has always displayed a concern for the education of its
people: its university system is one of the best in the nation. Gov. H unt has
long recognized that the roots of education lie in the elementary schools,
and has worked to develop a reading program and institute the minimum
competency tests. The state should continue to strive for excellence and
support the governor's program for talented students, but should also
devote more attention and monies to the plight of those who fail to strive in a
still-inadequate educational system. An endorsement of the proposed
remedial program is a step in that direction. Establishment of a fuller
program aimed at younger students might revolutionize education in North
Carolina.
letters to the editor
Cancer inducing agents: problems with regulation
By PETER HA PKE
It all began with Rachel Carson's diatribe against
DDT: Silem Spring. Since then, toxic substances have
been increasingly examined by the federal
government's microscopic eye. Today, that initial
probe is becoming another "Vietnam conflict" as
scientists, federal agencies, industry, and labor
continually argue over how to decide whether a ,
substance causes cancer in humans and what to do
about it.
The most recent offensive attack is the U.S.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration's plan
to reduce the time it takes the federal government to
determine whether a toxic substance is a carcinogen
(cancer-causing agent), and to find a mechanism lor
determining what constitutes a "safe level of
exposure." To reduce testing time, many scientists
advocate the use of bacteria tests such as the Ames
Test, instead of time-consuming and expensive animal
tests. Bacteria tests, though not as definitive as animal
studies, are regarded as effective in screening
substances to determine whether or not they are
harmful enough to warrant closer examination.
However, these new speedy test procedures are not
expected to be used for another three or four years
until the scope and accuracy of the method can be
assessed.
Deciding what is a carcinogen has become another
battlefield. Many scientists hold that almost any
substance that can cause change in cell structure
(mutagenesis) or that can cause tumors, even though
harmless, are usually carcinogens and hence
hazardous. In the late 1960s this governing principle
any chemical that is found to cause tumors in animals
or living tissue should be characterized as a carcinogen
and a hazard to man paralleled the growing public
concern for cancer hazards galvinized by Carson's
seminal report on toxic substances in the environment.
The World Health Organization views environmental
toxic substances as one of the most pervasive health
problems in the world; they argue that 60 to 90 percent
of all cancers are caused by such substances. For this
reason, some scientists dismiss a safe "threshold"
exposure level for toxic substances as impossible to
determine and maintain there should be a "zero"
exposure level.
The corporate fusillade has sounded as well. There is
great corporate concern about the economic impact of
OSHA's plan. One signal of concern is the
establishment of the American Industrial Health
Council by 40 companies, many of them in the
petrochemical industry which, incidentally, many
scientists believe has spawned an increase in the
number of carcinogens in common use. In an 85-page
brief, the council recommended a scientific definition
of carcinogens that is narrower than OSHA's
definition. And. while conceding there has been an
increase in the incidence of cancer since 1900. the
council asserts this increase can be attributed 'to
increased cigarette smoking and greater life spans
more people are living to an age at which cancer is
more likely to attack.
Another skirmish centers upon the social and
economic questions involved in balancing the health
risk of a possible carcinogen against the costs
sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars - of
eliminating the hazards. For instance, labor leaders
have attacked the prospect ol sticking .an economic
price tag on a worker's life as "calculated murder:"
however, many economists contend such calculations
are essential when the federal government has some
indications that 2. 156 unregulated substances may
cause cancer.
A measure of how heated the regulation issue has
become is indicated by the recent discovery that the
nation's largest commerical testing laboratory -Industrial
Bio-test of Northbrook. Ill, deliberately
falsified data submitted to the government on potential
carcinogens. Most shocking was the evidence that at
least four major pesticide manufacturers were aware of
the problem they knew of the irregularities in the
1BT test data and submitted applications for federal
t i
r -r i i -t
.J UJ
jM el...
DTH'Lee Poole
approval for their products. One of the companies.
Chevron Chemical, had falsified 1BT lab records
covering six months of a two-year animal study on the
Chevron insecticide Orthene. The study was made
between 1970 and 1972; Chevron makes 8 million
pounds of the insecticide annually.
As in all areas of government regulation, the
regulators and those regulated will always be in
conflict: toxic substances are no exception. Yet,
inevitably, this issue, unlike many others, must be
resolved by a social value judgment: What is the level
of acceptable risk? Because the cancer latency period is
1 5 to 40 years, it is unacceptable to find out whether a
suspected substance will produce cancer in man.
Tumors also present a problem. Certain induced
tumors transform into malignancies, but we can
seldom predict which tumors will become malignant
and which will not. Should we, then, ban all tumor
causing chemical agents? And, because it will be years
before inexpensive and accurate cancer-tesing
procedures such as the Ames bacteria test can be used,
should we regard every chemical that induces cancer in
animals as a potential carcinogen in man?
At present, these questions are being debated in the
political arena; in the meantime, more environmental
disasters such as the 1973 Michigan cattle feed
poisoning and the recent kepone poisoning are sure
to occur, which forces us to address another problem
and economic headache for industry: Should the U.S.
government enact legislation to compensate the
victims of environmental disasters caused by toxic
chemicals, Up until now, compensation has come
through litigation or special ad hoc programs such as
the one to compensate Michigan farmers for the 1973
cattle feed disaster. Recently, Rep. William Broakhead
of Michigan has proposed a comprehensive policy
program that would slap "use fees" on industry that
produced toxic substances, and then compensate
disaster victims by drawing from the collected
revenues. On the surface, such as a program sounds
reasonable, but it could easily be blocked on the House
floor because of industrial influence.
Resolution of the regulation issue is on the distant
horizon; and, because the issue is, arguably, a value
judgment, the solution will focus on the acceptability
of risk. Some people might argue that risk fromtoxine
is part and parcel of life in our industrial modern age,
but how much risk is acceptable must be decided by
society and our policy-makers. Utilitarian
considerations and fairness to the job security of
workers require that we live with some environmental
toxins. But is it possible to determine a safe level of
exposure without having to price the value of human
life?
Probably not, so future policy-makers will
undoubtedly have to make difficult trade-offs. But
"until then, all of us can, at the least, pray that Rachel
Carson's dire prediction of a silent spring remains as
fiction.
Peter Hapke, a senior ecologyEnglish major from
Asheville, is a staff writer for the Daily Tar Heel.
'Frivolous' scientific research sometimes results in great discovery
To the editor:
Your editorial dealing with
"frivolous" scientific research ("As if
everyone didn't know," April 6) reveals
a distressing attitude on your part
concerning knowledge. If you do not
understand something, you should
investigate it, not dismiss it as a w aste of
time and money.
Do you not think that a parent's
effects on a small child is an interesting
research problem? Have you no
curiosity as to how a week-old baby
perceives his world? Such research
could lead to important new ideas in
child-rearing methods. Copernicus and
Newton were called heretics, Columbus
was merely a nut. Your attitude towards
scientific investigation certainly has
historical precedent.
So everyone knows TV commercials
are louder than the programs. Does
everyone know how much louder, or t he
effect of increased volume? To find out,
all the research team probably had to do
was place a sound level meter in front of
the tube and watch it. How much could
this have cost? Surely you have seen
children sitting rooted before the tube.
How does higher volume during junk
food commercials effect them? If such
findings led to toning down the ads,
would it not be a blessing worth the
expense?
I have seen Sen. Proxmire's lists. By
what grace of God does he (or you)
know what is "absurd?" Spinoffs from
experiments going in a totally different
direction have made your life easier. For
example, new materials used in
medicine originally developed for use by
NASA. Every man-made item you
touch every plastic, metal, or cloth
was the result of someone's research.
How many of these would appear to the
narrow-minded to be foolishness?
Attempts to develop a cheaper way to
make a chemical used to make a
chemical used to make a chemical used
to make ink may not be of earth
shattering significance, but it would
enable you to print a cheaper paper.
Knowledge of the world we live in is
extremely important, mure so now with
diminishing natural resources and
overpopulation than ever before. I
imagine the fraction of money really
wasted in these pursuits to be very small.
You cannot know to what great
discoveries a very minor one might lead.
If you can't contribute to new ideas and
knowledge, then don't detract from
those w ho might.
Hubert O. Hayworth
103 Grimes
anyone and everyone who would like to
help us form a UNC Frisbee Club.
Talent, we're sure, abounds on
campus, and a little practice goes a long
way as evidenced by our strong showing
on Saturday and Sunday. We had top
ten finishers in both the Frisbee golf and
MTA (maximum time aloft) events, and
our ultimate (Frisbee football) team
brought back the state championship
trophy.
We're looking for seasoned pros,
casual afternoon tossers. and curious
public forum the latest design in toilet
paper dispensers. 1 had the misfortune
of being exposed to one while in the new
annex of the Wilson Library. Without
deliberating on my personal
frustrations, I'd like to know who is
responsible for the adoption of this
miserable invention at this University.
The fiendish device could qualify as
cruel and unusual punishment.
For those who have been spared, let
me explain. Whereas advanced designs
allow the roll to spin freely, and
primitive designs are strictly immobile.
W LIKED THE WAY ,,OTT
NuQR PRESIDENT M&
ffSEENK!
tor
OK
MP., Mm
wen
i -ir -Aim .fr tw.
I
Attn, frisbee flingers
To the editor:
This past weekend. Club West sent
ten of its Frisbee throwing best down to
Charlotte to compete in the first annual
N.C. State Frisbee Tournament. This
was the first such tournament in which
UNC was represented, and we hope it
won't be the last. So as toinsurethis.we
wi'l be having a meeting at 3:30 p.m.
Wednesdav in Iront of the Old Well for
beginners. No experience is necessary,
just a desire to have some fun with a
disc; although opportunities for serious
competition will be available. Let's give
Frisbee a home in Chapel Hill.
Signed by the 10 members of Club West
Paper dispensers a pain
I o the editor:
I'd like to brine to the a! lent ion ul the
this new creation has the dysfunction of
rotating 180 degrees before leaving the
nonoffending victim holding the
quantitatively insubstantial length of
approximately five inches of toilet
paper. This simply will not do the job.
Perhaps we have those fine engineers
a t S t at e t o c red it w it h t he cr eat ion of this
subversive device. Nevertheless. I am
en her dismayed by the bureaucracy that
allows the institutionalization of this
pain-in-ihe-ass: or I am impressed by
the persuasiveness ot the salesman that
pushes this devilish product. He must
have done one helluva job!
Now some have charged that this
campus reeks of apathy. I hereby
challenge all my fellow students of high
principle to reveal the ineptitude of this
notion by banding together as a united
force to help eliminate these inhumane
contraptions.
Robert D. Higgins
U-5 Kingswood Apts.
Co-op misnomer
To the editor:
I need to make a correction on the
name of the co-op that I wrote about in
Wednesday's DTH. The newly merged
name is Community Foods, Inc. not
Chapel Hill Foods, inc. as I stated.
Apologies to the co-op and to anyone
who tried to find it under that name.
Teri Lynn Herbert
Rt. 8 Box 68
Chapel Hill
Point system unfair
To the editor:
The 1977 session of the General
Assembly of North Carolina House Bill
Number 658 was passed to promote the
public welfare by regulating rates to the
end that they shall not be excessive,
inadequate or unfairly discriminatory.
From my point of view they have
missed the boat. OK punish the
drunken driver, the reckless driver, the
speeder, the fellow who creates
accidents. There is a big catch-basin.
You get one point against you for each
moving violation.
In Durham, at present, the congested
areas in town carry a 35 miles per hour
speed limit. Drive two to five miles out
into safe areas and the posted limit is
still 35. In these safe areas patrol cars
sit on the side streets and wait for the
victim cruising at 40 miles perhour.
Records from our police department
show that 90 percent of the arrests in
1977 were for citizens driving between
35 and 45 miles per hour. There were
over 6.6(10 arrests, so it is easy to see that
almost 6,000 people were victims caught
driving in the area of 40 miles per hour
Two such moving violations and you
are punished as though you had driven
74 miles per hour. Four violations in
your family and all of you are punished
as though one had driven 80 miles per
hour.
What is the answer? Try to get speed
limits changed by your city councils. It
does not always work. Recently I
garnered 400 signatures to a petition to
ask for an increase in speed limits on two
streets. Our Public Works Committee
passed it with the approval of the City
Traffic Control office and when we
appeared before the City Council, two
people appeared against the petition
and it was denied by unanimous vote.
Speed limits are unfair in fringe areas
of many cities; the point system is unfair
to safe drivers at 40 miles per hour. Let
your representatives to the General
Assembly hear from you. Call your city
council officials and let them hear your
protests!
Tom Reamer
30 Stoneridge Circle
Durham
Class of 78:
How do you feel?
You're ready to graduate how does
it feel? Write and tell us your story. What
is it like to be a senior to be ready to
graduate and leave Carolina?
Maybe you haven't gotten a job yet.
Maybe there's the unsettling thought that
there's so much left of college life that you
haven't done yet. Maybe you're upset
because you realize you may never see
your best friends again. Or maybe it's a
case of senior panic.
Reponses should be typed, double
spaced on a 60-space line. Mail or bring
them to the features department by
Wednesday. April 12. Include name,
address and phone number.