:_
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.
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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
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