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.”