Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1981)
Vol. 82. No. 99 l Eugene, Oregon 97403 Thursday, February 12,1981 1 Cops nab communist1 A Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade member was arrest ed on the EMU Terrace Wednesday afternoon in connection with Mon day’s protest of ex-hostage Victor Tomseth’s University visit. Ismet Guchan was booked in the Lane County jail on charges of hin dering prosecution, police said. Guchan, 29, of Eugene, allegedly interfered with police as they took John Kaiser, also an RCYB member, into custody after he burned a piece of yellow cloth in front of the EMU Ballroom stage. Guchan’s bail was set at $10,000, and he was released later Wednes day night. His arraignment was scheduled for this morning. Kaiser and RCYB-member Nancy Whitley, who were arraigned on charges of first-degree arson Tues day, were released Wednesday after posting bail. Lawyer warns of Eugene toxic wasteland By HARRY ESTEVE Of ttw Emerald Chemical lawn fertilizers, PCBs and 2,4-D may be turning Eugene into a toxic wasteland, local lawyer Bruce Anderson told a group of University students Wed nesday night. Anderson, who has received national recognition for his defense of environ mental quality, said industrial chemicals entering local landfills are "creating a monster" in Eugene. "I've walked around dumpsites here and have seen barrels of 2,4-D lying around," he said. 2,4-D, a chemical her bicide used by the state highway depart ment and the timber industry, has been the focus of recent criticism for its al leged harmful effects on human and animal fetuses. Anderson spoked in the EMU as part of the forum on Toxic Substances in the Environment, an event sponsored by the University Survival Center. Anderson said the Day Island Landfill, located near Alton Baker Park along the Willamette River, may become a major pollution headache for Eugene in the near future. Because of the way it was designed, waste leakago into the river is “inevitable” he said. "This is something we are going to have to deal with in our lifetime.” The most harmful effects of chemical fertilizers and herbicides, which have fallen under the broad category of toxic wastes, are “synergistic problems,” An derson said. He defined “chemical syn ergy" as a dangerous multiplier effect caused when several toxic wastes are present in the same area. "With toxic waste, one plus one doesn’t always equal two, sometimes it equals four," he said. According to Anderson, little is known about this multiplier effect, yet "many of the medical problems (from toxic wastes) come from synergistic problems. Anderson has spent much of his legal career battling chemical companies, timber harvesters and large farming operations for their use of toxins. His frustrations with the “reality of trying to prosecute" those he considers violators of federal environmental impact laws have led him to believe litigation alone will not solve the toxic waste problem. He said chemical companies are willing to spend "enormous amounts of money” to defend their product and it is “extremely difficult to convince a jury in the face of such well funded opposition.” It is up to the public to put an end to chemical pollutants, Anderson said. “The easiest and most effective way is to stop buying their products." He called the “preservation of the American lawn” one of the worst abuses of chemical pollutants. “When I was a kid, people had dan delions and crab grass in their lawns all the time. Now everybody has to have lawns with one shade of green and it has to be of uniform length and width. That’s ridiculous.” Anderson said he is “optimistic", however, that current attitudes are changing for the better. “Good things are going on in the school system,” he said. “Sixth graders are being taught the dangers of toxic wastes. They grow up knowing that they can’t just throw things away, they have to recycle.”