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Oregon Daily
iKmerald
Wednesday, May 14. 1986
Eugene. Oregon
Volume 87. Number 152
Radioactive elements in labs
unlikely to endanger students
By Greg Traweek
Of I9m Emerald
The recent nuclear accident at the Chernobyl
plant in the Soviet Union has led Americans to
question the safety of other areas where radiation
is present.
Radioactive materials are used in ex
periments conducted in several campus
laboratories, but Bill lames, a health physicist
from the campus Environmental Health and Safe
ty office, said students and faculty have nothing
to worry about.
The materials used in graduate-level
biochemical and physics labs are "generally low
level, low hazard as far health considerations are
concerned,” James said.
"The majority of materials here are low emit
ters that can usually be contained or blocked by
glass,” he said. “Their actual danger is small."
Small quantities of more potent materials
such as americium and plutonium are used in the
physics labs, lames said, "but not enough for any
explosions.”
The office is licensed to handle radioactive
materials for research by the state Health Divi
sion. lames said. Health Division guidelines
specify the amounts of radioactive materials that
can be used and the forms they must be used in,
such as liquid or solid, he said.
“If we want to continue to do research with
such materials we must abide by their
guidelines.” he said.
Radioactive materials are used in genetic and
nuclear physics studies. James said.
The materials would pose the greatest danger
if someone spilled them in a high-traffic area such
as an elevator or hallway, lames said. If it goes
undetected, radiation can leak through walls and
other structures, he said.
But the office takes precautions to prevent
mishaps. Surveys are conducted monthly in
public areas around the science departments and
in labs to detect radiation levels. James said. If
high levels are located, it is the office’s duty to
clean it up.
“We are the immediate response team in case
of any accidents." James said.
For those working with the materials, the
greatest danger lies in ingestion, he said.
Students work behind glass when handling low
emission elements, said Karen Sprague, a lab in
structor and an associate biology professor.
"Most materials in our biology labs emit beta
particles, and glass will stop them," she said.
"With larger amounts we work behind lead." she
said.
Students are tested for radiation exposure
with a meter at intervals that depend on their
usage level, she said, and students working with
high-emission materials also must periodically
submit urine samples.
The tests are precautions, James said. "The
purpose is to catch anything before it gets to be a
bad case." he said. If excessive radiation is
found, the cause of the situation is investigated,
and the student is notified. Levels high enough to
causa concern have been found, but nut high
enough to pose health risks, he said.
Two other precautions that prevent accidents
are security and the cost of the materials, he said.
All labs are locked when not in use to prevent so
meone who is unauthorized to handle the
materials from creating a problem, he said. This
also keeps costs down, James said. "These
materials are expensive. Them is a lot of motiva
tion not to blow it with them.”
Campus camping
Mike Ostrom, a freshman journalism major,
prepares to spend the night outside the University
Housing office in hopes of getting a room in Carson
dormitory next year. The office begins taking room
reservations today on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Photo by Michael Wilhelm
Delegation hopes to improve U.S.-Soviet relations
By Lisa living
Of the Kmrnild
A Eugene licensed journey electrician
and a horticulturist are among 30 Nor
thwest women traveling to the Soviet
Union this summer to "meet Soviet
women at work."
The Second Women's Journey for
Peace hopes to open more positive chan
nels for dialogue between the two na
tions by promoting solidarity between
working women. It is sponsored by the
Earthstewards Network, a Seattle-based
political action organization.
The group will visit factories and
farms throughout the Soviet Union to
share women’s experiences in managing
families and professional lives.
“We need to take the initiative to build
citizen diplomacy,” said Joyce Naff
ziger, publicity manager for the
delegates. ”We realize that our govern
ments are not doing it.”
While tradeswomen and those with
agriculture backgrounds are particularly
valued as tour members, the program is
open to all women, Naffziger said. The
women will leave Seattle June 19 and
return via Ijoa Angeles July 6.
Once in the Soviet Union, delegates
will distribute buttons made by Eugene
residents as tokens of friendship that
display the maker's name and address on
the back, enabling the Soviets to make
Photo by Sftm-Shing (Jnn
Kathryn Uubiel (left) and Kate Gessert
received scholarships to travel to the
Soviet Union this summer on a peace
mission.
contact if they choose. A booth at the
Saturday Market is featuring the buttons,
which can be designed by anyone
interested.
Suveral women from Eugene will par
ticipate. Horticulturalist Kale Dessert
and tradeswoman Kathryn Dubiel receiv
ed scholarships for the trip from
Women’s Action for Nuclear Disarma
ment (WAND) because of their profes
sional backgrounds.
Dubiel is an electrician working as a
union steward at the Eugene Wastewater
Treatment Plant. She is also a member of
the International Brotherhood of Elec
trical Workers.
‘The bottom line is that we
are all humans sharing
this planet.*
— Janet Anderson
Community activist |anet Anderson, a
participant in last year's journey, will
help lead the tour. An athletic trainer
and sports medicine specialist at Lane
Community College. Anderson helped
found the Eugene WAND chapter.
The group will spend several days in
Moscow before traveling to the
Kazakhstan Republic in central Asia,
followed by visits to Odessa, Leningrad
and Novgorod.
"There may be some changes in the
itinerary because some of the places we
were going to visit are near Chernobyl,"
Cessert said. Potential precautions
against nuclear exposure center on
avoiding cities near rivers that could Ih<
contaminated. Naffziger said.
Part of the reason hostility exists Im>!
ween the United States and the Soviet
Union lies in the lack of interaction l>et
ween the countries’ citizens. Uessert
said
"They also are very afraid of each
other." Uessert said, "and with more
contact there will he less fear."
For Uessert, that leads to the long-term
goals of the project. She said people of
the United States and the Soviet Union
all want to end the possibility of nucleur
war. "We’re all on the same side," she
said.
Hy setting up regular frameworks for
citizen exchange, the nations' fears can
lx; alleviated in favor of a relationship of
trust, (iessert said.
Anderson, in a written statement,
said. "Many Americans felt grief for the
victims of the Chernobyl accident, but
this administration's response was fram
ed only in distrust of the Russians, and
(he incident was used to widen the gap
between our two countries.
“One of our goals is to promote heart
to-heart connections between Soviet and
American people." Anderson added.
"The bottom line is that we are all
humans sharing this planet."