Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1985)
:_ editorial : Inadequate safety features allow leak Three months ago when the Union Carbide plant in West Virginia reopened following a closure to revamp safety procedures, Carbide officials assured the public that they had made a safe plant safer. But Sunday, a cloud of toxic gas escaped from the plant into the surrounding area and about 200 people required medical attention at area hospitals. The leak of methyl isocyanate last year from the pesticide-producing Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. India killed about 2,500 people and injured another 200,000. The tragedy triggered investigations into the only U.S. plant to produce the chemical, the Union Carbide plant in Institute, West Virginia. Concerns were raised that a similar incident could occur in the United States. Following the leak on Sunday, it turns out that the con-. cerns were not unfounded. After only three months in opera tion following the five-month closure, toxic gas seeped from the plant into the surrounding residential areas. Those in jured complained of respiration problems, dizziness, nausea and burning eyes. The leak, according to a Carbide spokesman, was due to a valve failure on a tank that contained the chemical. The chemical was identified as aldicarb oxime, a derivative of the chemical that leaked in Bhopal, methyl isocyanate. During the five-month closure of the plant that followed the Bhopal catastrophe, $5 million worth of safety im provements were made including a system that follows the . flow of toxic chemicals through the plant and a siren intend-' ed to warn area residents that a leak is imminent. The for- . mula for the pesticide, with the trade name of Temik' also was changed to use aldicarb oxime, a less dangerous • derivative of the methyl isocyanate that was used . previously. And after an inspection of the plant, the Environmental Protection Agency agreed with Carbide officials that the plant did not pose any danger to local residents, and approv ed preparations for the plant to renew production of the pesticide. But Sunday's mishap provides a strong indication that the existing and recently added safety features are not enough to protect those living in proximity to the Union.Car bide plant. Even the siren, according to many'victims, failed to warn of the gas before people were exposed to it. ’ \ But instead of recognizing the deficiency. Carbide of ficials have sought, to downplay the event by emphasizing that no one was seriously hurt, and that the chemical is;less . toxic than the methyl isocyanate that plagued Bhopal.,' But any leak of this magnitude is serious. The injury of 200 people, though slight ih comparison to the disaster in Bhopal, is not to be taken lightly, particularly'whenit“falls in the shadow of Bhopal and only three month°s.after the EPA and Carbide officials found the plant to be safe. Hciw many people.need to die before a leak is considered to be significant? • . .• \ In addition, this wasn't the first time a toxic chemical had escaped the West Virginia plant. An EPA study released earlier this year found that the plant leaked small quantities of methyl isocyanate on 28 separate occasions between 1980 and 1984. Leaks can’t be prevented entirely, but the West Virginia Carbide plant’s track record suggests that current safety measures are inadequate. Bhopal was enough to convince the world of how crucial it is that safety features function properly. If Bhopal wasn’t enough. Institute, West Virginia should spur Carbide authorities to ensure that the plant is better equipped to prevent hazardous leaks, and that area residents can be alerted before a toxic gas confronts them in their neighborhood. Letters Policy The Emerald will attempt to print all letters con taining fair comment on topics of interest to the University community. Letters to the editor must be limited to 250 words, typed, signed and the identification of the writer must be verified when the letter is turned in. The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or style. Letters to the editor should be turned into the Emerald office, Suite 300, EMU. PlVHOlt MDtuk' OftKSWSTORND **VUWW6' WSgSf* VWKrHWHHjE commentary Law students should seek the unknown, not mediocrity ' "OriiTt take the law into your own'hands, take ’em to court," boug Llewellyn--says at the . close of each chapter of the afternoon legal . soap opera, “The People's Court." Most . people don't realize that fudge Wapner is. in fact; a highly reputable former presiding judge of the largest judicial district in the country (Los Angeles Cqiinty) and. spent 20 years .on. the bench. He con- . siders himself to be doing his •part for education. . •• s • ■ But most people have never taken the law into their own hands.' Since 1 have had. the siimy, squirming thing, in'my handsrfor three years, and am now a certified (and as yet unemployed) Do c t o r of Jurisprudence. I have certain impressions of the law and of legal education in general. The July 17- issue -of ..the. Chronicle of Higher. Education ' discusses various criticisms of • legal education, and. responses by traditionalists. Perhaps my ..fine legal training has squeezed' me into a mold of moral am- ; bi vale nee, but there is something to bO said for both * critics and supporters of tradi tional . legal education. • The mildiy combative, pressurized setting of law school, par ticularly in the first year, serves as an introduction to a profes sion dedicated, after all, to ad vocaey and argument. Any reasonable, competent student . who has good test.taking skills and really wants to be lawyer, • can become a lawyer. Some people ask what .Is missing from our legal cur riculum, and advance a variety •of ideas for new classes, dif ferent teaching styles and other reforms. Others Insist that the moral relativism that seems in herent in legal education and practice needs, to be sup plemented With a sense-of the sources, limitations and biases ofthe law. and of .the relation ship of law to other sources of authority. I am of this school. When students choose classes at the University law school, less than 10' percent enroll in the class for which our degree is named: Jurisprudence.. This . class actually deals with some of the major issue's of the sources, legitimacy and mean ing of law, but most students don’t care to discuss these ques tions. preferring to take classes oriented toward the golden gato: the bar exam. Perhaps most practitioners don’t need to think about the “why’’ of law in their daily practice, but I am convinced that the law school ought to per mit students to take a larger number of courses for credit outside the law curriculum. Law schools should not try to become adjuncts of the depart ments of philosophy, psychology or sociology, but the students are now too Inclin ed to buy into their traditional role and the legal subculture with no questions asked Law schools.' like universities in general, are becoming places where students say "yes" in stead of "why" whenever a pro fessor or administrator opens her mouth. This "yes" genera tion wants to be processed by college, and any broadening of personal horizons that takes place is often incidental. In their specialized and robotic responses to real or presumed authority, students fear the unknown, and settle for the mediocre, i ask that these peo ple remember that this country was not built, improved or defended by people intent on the pursuit of mediocrity, or afraid to rock the boat. I hope the lawyers of my generation will question authority frequently and with enthusiasm, take up exotic causes left and right, select op portunities instead of jobs, and look under obscure rocks to sue who or what wriggles there. Good luck to the class of 1985. By Alan Contreras Oregon doily emerald , The Oregon Daily Emerald la published on Tuesdays and Thursday during the summer sesston except during exam week and vacations by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing. Co.,- at the University of Oregon, Eugene. Oregon, 97403 The Emerald operates independently of the Universi ty with offices on the third floor of the Erb Memorial Union and is a member of the Associated Press The Emerald Is private property. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law Qeneral Staff Advertising Director Production Manager Classified Advertising Assistant to the Publisher Susan Thelen Russell Steele Vince Adams Jean Ownbey Advertising Sales Tim Clevenger, Michael Gray. Nancy Nielsen, David Wood Production Vince Adams. Kelly Cornyn, Stormi Dykes. Kathy Gallagher. Steve Gibbons, Kelly Neff, Michele Ross, Peg Solonika, Karen Stallwood, Colleen Tremaine, Steven Wall Editor Managing Editor. News Editor Editorial Page Editor Entertainment Editor Photo Editor Night Editor Julie Shippen Diana Elliott Michelle Brence Sheila Landry Karen Stallwood Julie Shippen Associate Editors Administration Higher Education, Community Student Activities Features Kirsten Bolin Scott McFetrldge Julie Freeman Marty Schwarzbauer Reporters Sean Axmaker, Frale de Guzman, Linda Hahn, Kim Kaady, Barbara Shaw, Andrea Skutca. News and Editorial 686 5611 Display Advertising and Business 688-3712 Classitled Advertising 888-4343 Production 888-4381 Circulation 686-SS11
